Coming Up: "A Woman of No Importance"
6/6/09
By Oscar Wilde. Starring Rosalind Ayres, Jane Carr, Peter Dennis, Judy Geeson, Paul Gutrecht, Martin Jarvis, Cherie Lunghi, Robert Machray, Miriam Margolyes, Samantha Mathis, and Jim Norton. Devilishly attractive Lord Illingworth is notorious for his skill as a seducer. But he is still invited to all the "best" houses while his female conquests must hide their shame in seclusion. In this devastating drawing-room comedy, Wilde uses his celebrated wit to expose English society's narrow view of everything from sexual mores to Americans.
"The Crucible"
5/30/09
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By Arthur Miller. Starring Irene Aranga, Rene Auberjonois, Ed Begley Jr., Georgia Brown, Jack Coleman, Bud Cort, Richard Dreyfuss, Judyann Elder, Hector Elizondo, Fionnula Flanagan, Ann Hearne, Carol Kane, Stacy Keach, Anna Sophie Loewenberg, Marian Mercer, Franklyn Seales, Madolyn Smith, Joe Spano, and Michael York. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, Massachusetts, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town. In the ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor, "The Crucible" mirrors the anti-Communist hysteria in the 1950s.
"An Immaculate Misconception"
5/23/09
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By Carl Djerassi. Starring Philip Casnoff, Kevin Kilner, and JoBeth Williams. Dr. Melanie Laidlaw is a scientist developing the first use of ICSI, short for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Her collaborator, Dr. Felix Frankenthaler, turns out to have his own ideas about how to implement their new procedure. The wild card is Melanie's new lover, Menachem Dvir, a fellow scientist. This darkly comic menage-a-trois plays out not only in bedrooms and labs, but also in test tubes and under the microscope.
"A Huey P. Newton Story"
5/16/09
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By Roger Guenveur Smith. Starring Roger Guenveur Smith and Marc Anthony Thompson. In his brilliantly imagined, Obie Award-winning show, Roger Guenveur Smith explores the life of the controversial Black Panther leader through a series of improvisations based on Newton's own words and writings. Biography, satire, and socio-political commentary blend within a landscape of fantastic sound design to create a provocative, surreal and always surprising portrait of the complex times in which he lived.
"Major Barbara"
5/9/09
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By George Bernard Shaw. Starring J.B. Blanc, Kate Burton, Matthew Gaydos, Brian George, Hamish Linklater, Henri Lubatti, Kirsten Potter, Roger Rees, Russell Soder, Amelia White, Missy Yager, and Sarah Zimmerman. Barbara is a major in the Salvation Army – but she's also the daughter of Andrew Undershaft, a man who's made millions from the sale of weapons of war. The real battle, however, rages between the devilish father and his idealistic daughter as they answer the question: does salvation come through faith or finance?
"The Glass Menagerie"
5/2/09
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By Tennessee Williams. Starring Calista Flockhart, John Goodman, Julie Harris, Zeljko Ivanek, and Kevin Kilner. One of Tennessee Williams' best known and honored works, this evocative memory play about an eccentric Southern family revolves around the domineering Amanda Wingfield and her grown children: the cynical Tom and the fragile Laura.
"Park Your Car in Harvard Yard"
4/25/09
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By Israel Horovitz. Starring Jason Robards and Judith Ivey. Jacob Brackish, the toughest, meanest teacher ever to set foot in Gloucester High School is dying at home. His advertisement for a housekeeper to look after him during his final years is answered by a mousy 40-year-old named Kathleen, a woman Jacob has forgotten he flunked years before. Judith Ivey and Jason Robards recreate the roles they originated on Broadway in this humorous and moving play.
"M. Butterfly"
4/18/09
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By David Henry Hwang. Starring John Lithgow, B.D. Wong, Margaret Cho, David Dukes, Joanna Frank, Arye Gross, and Kathryn Layng. John Lithgow and B.D. Wong recreate their original roles from the Tony Award-winning production. Inspired by an actual espionage scandal, a French diplomat discovers the startling truth about his Chinese mistress.
"Breaking the Code"
4/11/09
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By Hugh Whitemore. Starring Simon Templeman, Sheelagh Cullen, Kenneth Danziger, Peter Dennis, Samantha Robson, Orlando Seale, W. Morgan Sheppard, and Andre Sogliuzzo. Simon Templeman stars as brilliant mathematician Alan Turing, the man who cracked the German Enigma code and enabled the Allies to win World War II. But Turing was to find that the country he saved cared less about his genius and more about his sexual orientation.
"Mizlansky/Zilinsky"
4/4/09
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By Jon Robin Baitz. Starring Nathan Lane, Paul Sand, Grant Shaud, Rob Morrow, Julie Kavner, Richard Masur, Harry Shearer, Kurtwood Smith, Robert Walden, and Samantha Bennett. It's early-1980s Los Angeles, where the glamour of its golden years has faded to a cheap veneer. Cunning Hollywood producer Davis Mizlansky and his nervous partner Sam Zilinsky are the archetypal Hollywood con men. They're trying to hatch one last grand scheme – but the IRS is trying to cash a reality check. What happens when the art of the deal turns into a battle for the ultimate double-cross?
"Earth and Sky"
3/28/09
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By Douglas Post. Starring Annette Bening, John Mahoney, Ed Begley Jr., and Steven Weber. Sarah McKeon lives in the rarefied world of library work and poetry readings. But the brutal murder of her lover shakes loose her naiveté in Douglas Post's haunting thriller. Through the dangerous streets and barren alleys of Chicago's Northside, McKeon searches for the truth about the man she thought she knew.
"A Woman of No Importance"
3/21/09
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Oscar Wilde. Starring Rosalind Ayres, Jane Carr, Judy Geeson, Martin Jarvis, Cherie Lunghi, Robert Machray, and Miriam Margolyes. Devilishly attractive Lord Illingworth is notorious for his skill as a seducer. Nethertheless he is still invited to all the "best" houses while his female conquests must hide their shame in seclusion. With a scalpel as sharp as his wit, Wilde exposes English society's narrow view of everything from sexual mores to Americans.
"Halcyon Days"
3/14/09
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By Steven Dietz. Starring Anne Archer, Ed Begley Jr., Samantha Bennett, Livingston Holmes, Richard Masur, Jon Matthews, Christopher McDonald, Gill Segel, and Michael Winters. A darkly comic satire of Washington politics and presidential spin set against the 1983 invasion of Grenada – the so-called "nutmeg capital of the world."
"Sight Unseen"
3/07/09
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By Donald Marguiles. Starring Anna Gunn, Adam Arkin, Jordan Baker, and Randy Ogelsby. Jonathan Waxman is a hugely successful artist. He receives exorbitant prices for his works, sight unseen. But a rendezvous with his original muse and lover causes him to re-evaluate the success that now controls him. This Obie Award-winning drama explores the artist's role in society, the commerce of art, and the complications of love and memory.
"Oedipus the King"
2/28/09
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By Sophocles. Starring Harry J. Lennix, Spencer Garrett, Francis Guinan, Charles Kimbrough, Rod McLachlan, Carolyn Seymour, and W. Morgan Sheppard. In this vivid new translation by Greek scholar and director Nicholas Rudall, King Oedipus discovers that he has been caught in the steel-trap of a terrible destiny: to unknowingly murder his father and marry his mother.
"The Member of the Wedding"
2/21/09
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By Carson McCullers. Starring Ruby Dee, Jena Malone, Lawrence Pressman, and Tegan West. Set in the American South of the 1940s, this coming-of-age story about a lonely, over-imaginative twelve-year old girl and the black cook to whom she pours out her heart is one of the most poignant plays ever written about loneliness, longing and love. Winner of the New York Drama Critics' Prize for Best American Play of 1950.
"Barefoot in the Park"
2/14/09
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By Neil Simon. Starring Eric Stoltz and Laura Linney. In Neil Simon's comedy classic, a young lawyer and his new bride return from their honeymoon to move into a new apartment. Once there, they find the place is bare of furniture, the paint job is wrong, the skylight leaks and wacky neighbors keep popping up. Then things start to really go wrong...
"The Rivalry"
2/07/09
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By Norman Corwin. Starring Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Lily Rabe, James Gleason, and Shannon Cochran. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, Academy Award-nominees Paul Giamatti and David Strathairn star in Norman Corwin's electrifying dramatization of the history-making Lincoln-Douglas debates. This fierce rivalry between rising legislator Abraham Lincoln and incumbent Senator Stephen A. Douglas tackled some of the day's most passionate and controversial issues - above all, those of slavery and the American concept of freedom. As seen through the eyes of Douglas' young wife Adele, the play illuminates two of the most charismatic politicians of any era. Directed by Academy Award-winner Eric Simonson. "Evocative, inspiring and stirring…" raves The New York Times.
"Pack of Lies"
1/31/09
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By Hugh Whitemore. Starring Rosalind Ayres, Martin Jarvis, Julian Sands, Roxanne Hart, and Megan Austin Oberle. Actual events during the Cold War inspired this thriller that takes place in a suburb of London during the winter of 1961. Loyalty, duty and friendship collide when the Jacksons slowly discover that the Krogers, their neighbors and cherished friends, are not exactly who they appear to be.
"The Young Man from Atlanta"
1/24/09
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By Horton Foote. Starring Shirley Knight, David Selby, Phyllis Applegate, Jamie Hanes, Lynne Marta, Ronan O'Casey, Daniel Passer, Kenna Ramsey, and Tom Virtue. In 1950s Houston, an affluent couple is transformed by tragedy when their son dies under mysterious circumstances and the husband loses his job of 40 years. Shirley Knight recreates her Tony-nominated performance in this 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
"This Town"
1/17/09
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By Sidney Blumenthal. Starring Richard Kind, Gates McFadden, and John Randolph. In this work written by a former political journalist and Presidential advisor, Sidney Blumenthal gives us an unflinching fly-on-the-wall look inside the outwardly well-groomed Washington Press Corps. Written in the mid-1990s, it turned out to be remarkably prescient of the media-driven scandals that rocked the Clinton Administration.
"The Rainmaker"
1/10/09
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By N. Richard Nash. Starring Jayne Atkinson, James Morrison, Jerry Hardin, John Bedford Lloyd, and David Aaron Baker. H.C. Curry's farm is starved for water and his spinster daughter, Lizzie, is starved for love. Then glib, handsome Bill Starbuck comes into town. Tony-nominee Jayne Atkinson is joined by revival cast members from the Roundabout Theatre production.
"Six Degrees of Separation"
1/3/09
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By John Guare. Starring Alan Alda, Swoosie Kurtz, and Chuma Hunter-Gault. In a Fifth Avenue apartment high above Central Park, art dealer Flanders Kittredge and his wife Ouisa are trying to interest a moneyed friend in a $2 million investment. When an unexpected young guest arrives, claiming to be the son of Sidney Poitier, the plot takes some wonderfully unexpected turns. Veering effortlessly from hilarity to pathos, this dazzling play was lauded by The New York Times as "transcendent, magical and a masterwork."
"The Autumn Garden"
12/27/08
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By Lillian Hellman. Starring Julie Harris, Glenne Headly, Shirley Knight, David Clennon, and Scott Wolf. A Chekhovian comedy from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lillian Hellman about the sad and funny frailties of human existence. As the summer of 1949 draws to a close, a group of middle-aged friends are gathering for their annual retreat at a genteel Southern resort. An acquaintance from the past thrusts himself into the yearly gathering, forcing them to re-examine their mundane yet seemingly idyllic existence, the opportunities they've lost, and the lives that have passed them by.
"The Lion in Winter"
12/20/08
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By James Goldman. Starring Alfred Molina and Kathleen Chalfant. Backstabbing, spying, double crossing, and rampant infidelity – a typical family Christmas. Typical, that is, for the Plantagenets. James Goldman's brilliant historical drama pits King Henry II of England against the strong-willed Eleanor of Aquitaine as they battle over which of their sons will inherit the Crown. Includes an interview with Dr. Scott Waugh, Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"The Road to Mecca"
12/13/08
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By Athol Fugard. Starring Julie Harris, Amy Irving, and Harris Yulin. When her husband dies, aging Miss Helen begins to fill her home in the remote South African bush with strange sculptures made from beer cans and old headlights. A local clergyman and a young woman visitor try to decide whether Miss Helen's peculiar art is an outpouring of creativity or an outbreak of madness. An incandescent drama by South Africa's most celebrated playwright.
"Broadway Bound"
12/06/08
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By Neil Simon. Starring Jonathan Silverman, Jobeth Williams, Scott Wolf, Dan Castellaneta, Caroline Aaron, Kyle Colerider-Krugh, James Gleason, and Alan Mandell. Nominee for the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play, this is the final installment of the playwright's acclaimed semi-autobiographical trilogy, following on from Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues. After returning home from World War II, Eugene Jerome pairs up with his brother Stanley to break into the world of professional comedy writing. But a family crisis threatens to destroy their dreams of success.
"The Grapes of Wrath"
11/29/08
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By John Steinbeck and Frank Galati. Starring Emily Bergl, Shirley Knight, Francis Guinan, Rod McLachlan, Robert Pescovitz, and Jeffrey Donovan. As the Great Depression hits, the Joad family treks from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the fertile fields of California. But the promise of new work quickly turns into a nightmare of human desperation. How, and will, they survive? Driven by the rhythms of the Joel Rafael Band, this acclaimed adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel finds its timeless heart in the generous spirit of the common man.
"The Waldorf Conference"
11/22/08
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By Nat Sagaloff, Daniel M. Kimmel, and Arnie Reisman. Starring Edward Asner, Charles Durning, Bill Macy, Richard Masur, John Randolph, and Ron Rifkin. On November 24, 1947, the most powerful men in American film met in New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to decide how to address the House Un-American Activities Committee Communist witch-hunt. 24 hours later they emerged, having created the Hollywood Blacklist. "The Waldorf Conference" dramatically speculates on what went on in that room.
"Speech & Debate"
11/15/08
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By Stephen Karam. Starring Andrea Bowen, Bobby Steggert, Gideon Glick, and Nora Dunn. They may go to the same school, but misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie have never met and their teachers and peers just don't take them seriously – until a sex scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together. Soon they realize that three voices are stronger than one. And since their school has no speech and debate squad, maybe this is their chance to be heard at last...
"The Ride Down Mt. Morgan"
11/08/08
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By Arthur Miller. Starring Gregory Itzin, Amy Pietz, Kirsten Potter, and Saidah Arrika Ekulona. Lyman Felt has it all. Wealth, success, power and the kind of good solid wife he needs. He also has a second wife, the kind of earthy, sexy woman he wants. Lyman successfully juggles his artful lie until a car accident on the slippery slope of Mt. Morgan lands him in a hospital bed and the two wives in the waiting room. But is there really any such thing as "just an accident"?
"The Rivalry"
11/01/08
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By Norman Corwin. Starring Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Lily Rabe, and James Gleason. Two Senatorial candidates – one a forthright Illinois legislator, the other a bombastic U.S. Senator. Obama and McCain? Think again. In this transcendent Broadway play, the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates tackle the day's most passionate issue – slavery. Their battle comes to life through the eyes of Adele Douglas, wife of candidate Stephen Douglas. Challenged by the charming man from Illinois, she reexamines her basic beliefs about the American concept of freedom.
"Blithe Spirit"
10/25/08
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By Noel Coward. Starring Rosalind Ayres, Shirley Knight, Judy Geeson, and Ian Ogilvy. In the charming country home of Charles Condomine, a convivial evening party among friends is transformed when a séance conjures the ghost of Elvira, Charles' first wife, who delights in wreaking havoc among the living.
"Summer and Smoke"
10/18/08
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By Tennessee Williams. Starring Sarah Zimmerman, Tina Sanchez, David Selby, Armin Shimerman, and Tegan West. Tennessee Williams' sensuous portrait of sexual repression is as sultry as the sweltering heat of its Mississippi setting. Alma Winemiller secretly harbors a lifelong spiritual love for the boy next door, Dr. John Buchanan, but the rakish John is focused solely on sexual conquest. Their intense relationship becomes a battle for his body and her soul.
"Spinning into Butter"
10/11/08
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By Rebecca Gilman. Starring Jordan Baker, Kevin Kilner, and Charles Kimbrough. What happens when conflicting emotions inhabit the same space; when a new vocabulary is devised to disguise the same old thoughts? This barbed satire of political correctness reveals the latent racism that can lurk beneath the porcelain veneer of a liberated conscience.
"Adam's Rib"
10/4/08
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By Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin, and David Rambo. Starring Anne Heche, Adam Arkin, and Annabelle Gurwitch. A classic battle of the sexes and a courtroom farce, this peerlessly witty examination of husband and wife attorneys was first crafted for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Commissioned by L.A. Theatre Works, David Rambo's adaptation includes never-before-heard original material from the Oscar-nominated screenplay.
"Boats on a River"
9/27/08
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By Julie Marie Myatt. Starring Gregory Itzin, William Mapother, Jane Le, Emily Liu, Elizabeth Pan, Michelle Ongkingco, and Keo Woolford. American expatriate Sidney Webb and Sister Margaret, his British colleague, work tirelessly to rehabilitate Cambodian children from the nightmare of prostitution. After a surprise raid on a brothel, three liberated girls begin the inspirational process of recovery under the loving watch of their new protectors.
"Falsettos"
9/20/08
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By William Finn and James Levine. Starring Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus, Chip Zien, Marnie Mosiman, and Asher Book. The Tony award-winning musical about Marvin, a neurotic bisexual, who moves in upstairs from his wife and son with his lover, the provocatively named Whizzer. Every night all four eat dinner together, because Marvin wants to hold onto his tight-knit family. He wants it all – but can he have it?
"God's Man in Texas"
9/13/08
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By David Rambo. Starring Robert Pescovitz, W. Morgan Sheppard, and Andy Taylor. A face-off for control between a legendary Baptist pastor and an ambitious young preacher. A pointed look at organized, merchandised religion; the dangers of pride and ambition; the battles between generations; and the redemptive power of faith.
"Taking Flight"
9/6/08
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By Adriana Sevan. Starring Adriana Sevan. A deeply compelling tale celebrating life and the power of forgiveness. Adriana Sevan's relationship with her best friend Rhonda is put to the test when their lives are forever changed by the events of September 11th. In a tour-de-force performance, Sevan brings to life her search for meaning, and the goddess within, while trying to save the life of her friend.
"World Play 2008"
8/30/08
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Specially written and produced radio drama from around the world, produced in collaboration with international broadcasters: BBC World Service, CBC Canada, Radio New Zealand, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Ireland.
"The Chicago Conspiracy Trial"
8/23/08
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By Peter Goodchild. Starring David Schwimmer, Tom Amandes, George Murdock, Mike Nussbaum, and Ron West. Reality is stranger than fiction when seven 1960s radicals refuse to behave in Judge Julius Hoffman's courtroom. Based on actual trial transcripts and starring a cast of top Chicago actors, this play centers on events following the protests and riots during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.
"Pride and Prejudice"
8/16/08
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By Jane Austen, adapted by Christina Calvit. Starring Kate Burton, Miriam Margolyes, and Kevin Thiels. This classic tale of on-again, off-again romance between the witty and independent Elizabeth Bennet, and her suitor – the honorable, but somewhat arrogant, Mr. Darcy – set the gold standard for romantic comedies. It's also a witty satire of English manners and society, exposing human weaknesses and pretensions - but always with affection and wry amusement.
"How I Learned to Drive"
8/9/08
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By Paula Vogel. Starring Glenne Headly, Randall Arney, Joy Gregory, Paul Mercier, and Rondi Reed. Balmy evenings in rural Maryland are fraught with danger, and seductions can happen anywhere from a river bank to the front seat of a car, where a young self-conscious girl is learning to drive. To Li'l Bit, the radio is the most important part of the car, but the pop music of the '50s can never quite drown out the harrowing images in her mind.
"Present Laughter"
8/2/08
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By Noel Coward. Starring Ian Ogilvy, Christina Pickles, Carolyn Seymour, and Yeardley Smith. Friends, lovers, relatives and theatre acolytes sparkle like fine champagne around stage star Garry Essendine. While Garry struggles to plan his upcoming trip to Africa, his elegant London flat is invaded by a love-struck ingenue, an adulterous producer, and a married seductress – not to mention Garry's estranged wife Liz, and an aspiring playwright who is quite mad.
"Bang the Drum Slowly"
7/26/08
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By Mark Harris and Eric Simonson. Starring Ed Begley Jr., David Schwimmer, Harry Shearer, and Jonathan Silverman. A new dramatization of one of the greatest baseball stories of all time. A poignant, touching, and often comic tale of a baseball team's friendship and loyalty to a dying teammate.
"Ruby McCollum"
7/19/08
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By Steve Albrezzi, William Bradford Huie, and Ron Milner. Starring Loretta Devine, Paul Winfield, Shirley Knight, David Selby, Jean Smart, and Kurtwood Smith. A trail of lies, secrets and racial prejudice is uncovered when a pair of journalists, Zora Neale Hurston and William Bradford Huie, investigate the murder of a white doctor by an affluent African-American woman. Based on a true case in South Florida in 1952, this suspenseful drama has powerful implications to this day, posing questions of fairness and justice.
"The Country Girl"
7/12/08
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By Clifford Odets. Starring Mare Winningham, Stacy Keach, and Harry Hamlin. One of America's great dramatists rocked the worlds of Broadway and Hollywood in this moving drama about a desperately self-destructive alcoholic actor and Georgie, his long-suffering wife. A searing, emotional play of love and redemption.
"The Devil's Disciple"
7/5/08
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By George Bernard Shaw. Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Bruce Davison, Pat Carroll, and Lisa Pelikan. Shaw stands "do or die" melodrama on its head in this tale set during the American Revolution. A young hero who disdains heroism makes the ultimate sacrifice for honor and country.
"Top Secret: Battle for the Pentagon Papers"
6/28/08
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By Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons. Directed by John Rubinstein. Starring John Heard, Gregory Harrison, and Susan Sullivan. A timely docudrama about The Washington Post's decision to publish The Pentagon Papers, documenting how America became involved in Vietnam. The subsequent trial tested the parameters of the First Amendment, pitting the public's right to know against the government's desire for secrecy. A brand-new 2008 recording of the recent touring cast, featuring John Heard, Susan Sullivan and Gregroy Harrison. This broadcast also features a panel discussion with former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean, journalist and author Robert Scheer and Congresswoman Jane Harman. It will be moderated by playwright Geoffrey Cowan.
"Top Girls"
6/21/08
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By Caryl Churchill, starring Amy Brenneman, Carolyn Seymour, Megan Austin Oberle, and Kate Steele, directed by John Rubinstein. It's the middle of the high-flying, go-getting '80s in Maggie Thatcher's England, and Marlene finally has something to celebrate - she's just been made Managing Director of the Top Girls Employment Agency. But with no friends to speak of, and a past she'd just as soon forget, Marlene discovers that life above the glass ceiling is not all it's cracked up to be. A bold, searing comedy from the Olivier Award-winning playwright whom critics have called "one of the best writers today." Includes an interview with Amy Brenneman.
"The Paris Letter"
6/14/08
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By Jon Robin Baitz, starring John Glover, Ron Rifkin, Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, and Patricia Wettig. From the pen of the creator of the current hit TV series, "Brothers and Sisters." Financial wizard Sandy Sonnenberg finds his personal and professional life threatened by unraveling secrets from his past. A tragic game of financial and moral betrayal plays out over four decades, with an exacting price for family and friends, love, and marriage.
"Atomic Bombers"
6/7/08
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By Russell Vandenbroucke, starring Jon Matthews, Robin Gammell, and Tom Virtue. Take an offbeat journey into the New Mexico desert and the Manhattan Project, with the wise-cracking physicist Dr. Richard Feynman as your guide. The race to build the first atomic bomb comes alive as a very human endeavor, filled with humor, playfulness, and dread.
"The Heiress"
5/31/08
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By Augustus Goetz and Ruth Goetz, starring Amy Irving, Chris Noth, and George Gaynes. Catherine Sloper, the daughter of a wealthy New York doctor, longs for the approval of her distant, ironic father. But Dr. Sloper, preoccupied with the memory of his dead wife, can only be witty at his daughter's expense. He doesn't see that she's starved for affection, and how this leaves her vulnerable to the ingratiating charm of a new gentleman caller...
"Seven Days in May"
5/24/08
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By Kristen Sergel, starring Edward Asner, Kathleen Chalfant, and Senator Fred Thompson. The time is the Cold War. The President and Congress have entered into a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. But the charismatic chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes that the Soviets will not abide by the treaty and he begins to plan a coup, setting the stage for a classic suspense thriller.
"The Best of Second City"
5/17/08
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Written and Performed by: Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Ed Asner, Marsha Mason, Fran Adams, Tim Kazurinsky, Joe Liss, and Ron West. Take an unforgettable ride with the classic sketches that helped make this America's foremost comedy troupe. The Second City lampoons every aspect of modern American life, with brilliant improvised sketches on subjects ranging from salad bars to affairs of state.
"Shadowlands"
5/10/08
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By William Nicholson, starring Martin Jarvis, Harriet Sansom Harris, and W. Morgan Sheppard. As the latest of the Narnia Chronicles, "Prince Caspian", hits movie theatres, this poignant award-winning play takes us into the life of author C.S. Lewis. It relates the story of this shy Oxford don and American poet Joy Gresham, and shows how love, and the risk of loss, transformed this great man's relationships, even with God.
"War of the Worlds"
5/3/08
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By H.G. Wells, adapted by Howard Koch, starring Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Meagan Fay, Jerry Hardin, Dwight Schultz, Armin Shimerman, Tom Virtue, and John de Lancie. Join actors from STAR TREK and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION as they recreate this classic radio thriller. The breathless pace and convincing details make it clear why the 1938 broadcast of an "eyewitness report" of an invasion from Mars caused a nationwide panic in 1938. Originally performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, WAR OF THE WORLDS is truly the mother of all space invasions, offering a rare combination of chills, thrills and great literature.
"McReele"
4/26/08
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By Stephen Belber, starring Chris Butler, Deidrie Henry, Charles Janasz, Lauren Tom, and Eric Stoltz. When death row prisoner Darius McReele transforms into a charismatic front-runner in the Delaware senate race, the spin starts spinning out of control. Is he doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, or the wrong thing for the right reasons? Does it ultimately matter?
"King Henry IV: Shadow of Succession"
4/19/08
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By David Bevington and Charles Newell, starring Nicholas Rudall, Raul Esparza, William Brown, and Raymond Fox. Shakespeare's epic drama of the young Prince Hal (later Henry V), his coming-of-age, and his relationships with two father figures: the mistrustful King Henry IV – sick and burdened by fear for his country's future; and the hilarious, irrepressible Sir John Falstaff.
"The Gin Game"
4/12/08
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By D.L Coburn and Bruce Norris, starring Katherine Helmond, Harris Yulin, Bruce Norris, William Petersen, Amy Morton, and D.W. Moffett. "The Gin Game" deftly mixes comedy and tragedy as an elderly man and woman play gin rummy on the porch of an old-age home. Author D.L. Coburn observes: "The tragicomedy of The Gin Game reminds me of the words Flaubert wrote to his mistress: We laugh with pity at the vanity of the human will… "The Actor Retires" is a hilarious, almost surreal, journey into the life of an actor who decides to end his career, throw out his resumés, and become a furniture maker.
"Relativity"
4/5/08
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By Cassandra Medley, starring Jason Ritter, Judyann Elder, Deidrie Henry, James Pickens Jr, and Lorraine Toussaint. Kalima, a young African-American genetics researcher, has supported her mother, a renowned activist who pushes a controversial theory of genetic superiority. But with her own research, she starts to doubt what she’s been taught all her life and finds herself at odds with both her career and family.
"The Third Man"
3/29/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Graham Greene, starring Kelsey Grammer, John Mahoney, Rosalind Ayres, and John Vickery. Somewhere in shadowy post-war Vienna, where everyone has something to sell on the black market, lurks "the third man," who witnessed the murder of Harry Lime. The police don't care to investigate, but novelist Holly Martins is haunted by the death of his friend – and entranced by the mysterious Anna.... The broadcast includes an interview with TIME magazine film critic, Richard Schickel.
"Major Barbara"
3/22/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By George Bernard Shaw, adapted by Dakin Matthews, starring Roger Rees, Kate Burton, Hamish Linklater, and Kirsten Potter. The classic Shavian comedy that could have been written today. Barbara is a Major in the Salvation Army, but she's also the daughter of Andrew Undershaft, a multi-millionaire arms manufacturer. He doesn't care who or what his weapons have destroyed, but he does care who will inherit his business. A family power struggle ensues, with Barbara and her father battling over the answer to the question: Does salvation come through faith or finance?
"Dugout III: Warboy (and the backboard blues)"
3/15/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Terry Allen, starring Terry Allen, Jo Harvey Allen, Richard Bowden, and Lloyd Maines. Drawing upon his childhood memories of West Texas, artist, musician, and writer Terry Allen has created this magical, multi-layered tale in the tradition of Southern story-telling. As Allen explains, "Dugout is a love story; an investigation into how memory is invented – a kind of Supernatural-Jazz-Sport-History-Ghost-Blood-Fiction." Includes a conversation with renowned art critic Dave Hickey from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
"An American Daughter"
3/8/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Wendy Wasserstein, starring Marcy McDonnell, Gregory Itzin, and Kevin McCarthy. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein spins a comic and moving tale about the pitfalls that await political appointees. Dr. Lyssa Hughes is a respected health crusader, devoted wife and mother, and the perfect candidate for U.S. Surgeon General... until a chance remark sets off a media feeding-frenzy.
"Secret Order"
3/1/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Bob Clyman, starring Richard Schiff and George Segal. In the high-stakes world of cancer research, Dr. William Shumway has just made a stunning breakthrough. Is it really the long-sought cure for cancer? Despite the young scientist’s reservations, a senior mentor pressures him to trumpet his findings to the world. Part medical drama, part suspense-filled thriller, “Secret Order” turns its microscope on the ethics, money, and egos of bio-research.
"Stick Fly"
2/23/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Lydia Diamond, starring Justine Bateman, Dule Hill, and Carl Lumbly. Sensitive "Spoon" LeVay and his slick brother "Flip" see their weekend at the family home on Martha's Vineyard as the perfect opportunity to introduce their new girlfriends to their upper class African-American parents. Instead they stumble into a domestic powder keg that exposes secrets of prejudice, hypocrisy, and adultery.
"Dinah Was"
2/16/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Oliver Goldstick, starring Yvette Freeman, Paul Elding, Adrian Lenox, Bud Leslie, and Daryl Allan Reed. Yvette Freeman reprises her Obie award-winning performance as Dinah Washington – "The Queen of the Blues". A vivid study of one of the greatest voices in music, as Washington stood her ground against racism, negotiated the turbulent waters of show-business and relationships, and faced her own personal demons. Features Yvette Freeman performing Washington's songs. Includes an interview with author Oliver Goldstick.
"Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting"
2/9/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Ed Schmidt, starring Ed Asner, Regi Davis, Paul Winfield, Michael W. Howell, and Lincoln Kilpatrick. Mr. Rickey, the wily manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, summons heavyweight champion Joe Louis, tap star Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and actor/singer Paul Robeson to gain their support for him making Jackie Robinson the Major League's first black ball player. A power struggles ensues when Robeson questions Rickey's plan to integrate white baseball. Includes an interview with NPR's Scott Simon.
"Blue/Orange"
2/2/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Joe Penhall, starring Daniel Davis, Matt Letscher, and Teagle F.Bouchere. Two pschychiatrists, one new and inexperienced, the other his well-established mentor, battle over the diagnosis and treatment of Chris, a young black man who claims to be the son of African dictator Idi Amin. This dark, edgy comedy, winner of the 2001 Olivier Award for Best New Play, will leave you wondering if any of the three is sane.
"Camping with Henry and Tom"
1/26/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Mark St. Germain, starring Alan Alda, David Dukes, Lee Arenberg, and Charles Durning. President Harding wants to be with his mistress. Industrialist Henry Ford wants to be President. And inventor Thomas Edison wonders how the three of them got stuck in the woods together. This hilarious off-Broadway hit was inspired by an actual camping trip taken by the three men in 1921, and has surprising relevance to today's politics.
"Deed of Trust"
1/19/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Claudia Allen, starring Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly. A quirky and poignant family drama set in rural 1930s Michigan. The legendary stars of TV's "Cagney and Lacey" play two sisters who learn that their estranged brother is making a coffin, and is planning to pay $500 to anyone who will kill him. Includes an interview with Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly.
"Pygmalion"
1/12/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By George Bernard Shaw, starring Shannon Cochran, Nicholas Pennell, and Nicholas Rudall. Shaw's most beloved play tells the story of the unlikely relationship between Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, and the irascible Henry Higgins, the speech professor who decides to mold her into a darling of high society. Includes an interview with director Nicholas Rudall.
"Mrs. Klein"
1/5/08
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Nicholas Wright, starring Julie Harris, Lindsay Crouse, and JoBeth Williams. One of the most extraordinary women of the 20th century comes roaring to life in this award-winning examination of the brilliant psychoanalyst. Melanie Klein is considered, along with Freud, to be the most important figure in the early development of psychiatry. But the play asks whether this came at the expense of her own son's life. Includes an interview with noted Kleinian Dr. Chris Minnick.
"The Lion in Winter"
12/29/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By James Goldman, starring Alfred Molina, Kathleen Chalfant, Lars Carlson, Steven Sutcliffe, and Kevin Daniels. In this tale of the ultimate dysfunctional family Christmas, Henry II of England and his strong-willed wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, lock horns over which of their three scheming sons will become King after Henry's death. (Goldman won an Oscar for Best Screenplay for the film starring Peter
O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn).
"The Lucky Spot"
12/22/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Beth Henley, starring Jack Black, Kurtwood Smith, Jean Smart, and James McLure. It's Christmas Eve, 1938, and a band of colorful and hilarious ne'er-do-wells valiantly try to scratch dreams from the Louisiana mud. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Crimes of the Heart". Includes an interview with director Belita Moreno.
"Dinner with Friends"
12/15/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Donald Margulies, starring Matthew Arkin, Lisa Emery, Kevin Kilner, and Deirdre O'Connell. Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, examining the lives of two couples and the repercussions of divorce on their friendships. With wit, compassion, and insight, playwright Donald Margulies weighs the cost of breaking up – and of staying together. Includes an interview with playwright Donald Margulies.
"Fired"
12/8/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Created by Annabelle Gurwitch; written by and starring Annabelle Gurwitch, Hilary Carlip, Carl Capotorto, Paul Feig, Jason Kravitz, Sandra Tsing Loh, Taylor Negron, Paul F. Tompkins, Jim Turner, Elizabeth Warner, Charlayne Woodard, and Roy Zimmerman. Rejection has never been so hilarious! After her role in a Woody Allen play was rethought, actress Annabelle Gurwitch (TBS's "Dinner and a Movie") was devastated. Then she got funny. Gurwitch and fellow show-biz veterans share their stories of being let go, downsized, canned, and – fired!
"The Life of Galileo"
12/1/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Bertolt Brecht, starring Stacy Keach, Joanne Whalley, Roy Dotrice, Simon Templeman, and Christopher Neame; directed by Martin Jarvis. The American Premiere of a new translation by leading playwright David Hare. Straight from London's National Theatre. Unrelenting in his search for what he called "simple truth," Galileo shattered beliefs held sacred for two thousand years. Under threat of torture by the Holy Inquisition, his scientific and personal integrity are put to the test as he argues for his very life.
"The Grapes of Wrath"
11/24/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By John Steinbeck, adapted by Frank Galati, with music by the Joe Rafael Band. Starring Jeffrey Donovan, Shirley Knight, and Emily Bergl. "The Grapes of Wrath" tells the powerful story of the Joad family's trek from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the fertile but futile fields of California in the early 1930s. Driven by the live rhythms of the Joel Rafael Band, this heart-wrenching, award-winning adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel finds its timeless heart in the generous spirit of the common man.
"Frozen"
11/17/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Bryon Lavery, starring Rosalind Ayres, Jeffrey Donovan, and Laila Robbins. One evening ten-year-old Rhona goes missing. As her mother retreats into a state of frozen hope, a psychologist studies the brain of a serial killer to find out if what he does is pure evil, or simply beyond his control. Drawn together by horrific circumstances, these three embark on a long, dark journey that ends in the discovery of a common humanity. Includes an interview with Dr. David Glaser, forensic psychiatrist.
"The Real Dr. Strangelove"
11/10/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Peter Goodchild, starring Simon Templeman, Joe Spano, and John de Lancie. The birth of Armageddon. The first H-Bomb detonates and the proud father is Edward Teller. But he's on a collision course with Robert Oppenheimer, head of the team that created the Atomic bomb. Now Oppenheimer has turned pacifist and the government will stop at nothing to neutralize him. And Teller is their star witness.
"The Best Man"
11/3/07 (re-broadcast Saturday 11/10/07)
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Gore Vidal, starring Fred Thompson and Marsha Mason. This darkly satirical drama finds two presidential contenders seeking the endorsement of an aging ex-president, and explores how personal agendas can change the course of a nation's destiny. The political intrigues rampant in Vidal's 1960 setting are strangely similar what is going on today. Includes an interview with presidential candidate Fred Thompson and Marsha Mason.
"World Play"
10/27/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Our annual celebration of premiere radio plays from around the world, produced in collaboration with the BBC World Service, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio New Zealand, Hong Kong Radio, and RTE Ireland.
"Sonia Flew"
10/20/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Melinda Lopez, starring Elizabeth Pena, Hector Elizondo, and Philip Casnoff. A powerful story of love and sacrifice that The Boston Globe calls "an extraordinary achievement by an emerging playwright." Sonia, a Cuban exiled during Castro's rise to power, is forced to relive her tumultuous childhood when her only son enlists in the military following 9/11.
"Park Your Car in Harvard Yard"
10/13/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Israel Horovitz, starring Jason Robards, Judith Ivey, and Christopher Plummer. Jacob Brackish, the toughest, meanest teacher ever to set foot in Gloucester High School, is dying at home. His advertisement for a housekeeper to look after him during his final years is answered by a mousy 40-year-old named Kathleen, a woman Jacob has forgotten he flunked years before. Judith Ivey and Jason Robards recreate the roles they originated on Broadway in this humorous and moving play.
"Moving Bodies"
10/6/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Arthur Giron, starring Alfred Molina, Joe Spano, Jill Gascoine, Harry Groener, Kathryn Hahn, Arye Gross, and Raphael Sbarge. A chronicle of the life of the brilliant, Nobel Prize-winning scientist and mathematician Richard Feynman, who early in his career worked on the development of the atomic bomb. We see how family, love, and his pursuit of making the world a better place through his discoveries shaped him to be one of the most respected and important scientists of the 20th century. For the complete interview with professor Brian Greene go to http://www.latw.org/radio/radio.aspx.
"Biloxi Blues"
9/29/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Neil Simon, starring Josh Radnor, Justine Bateman, Steve Rankin, Rob Benedict, Joshua Biton, John Cabrera, Mathew Patrick Davis, Russell Soder, and Darby Stanchfield. The second Tony Award-winning installment of Neil Simon's autobiographical trilogy follows a naiive Eugene Jerome through boot camp. Here he encounters an odd and eclectic group of fellow recruits, an eccentric drill sargent, and has his first experiences of sex and love.
"The Glass Menagerie"
9/22/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Tennessee Williams, starring Julie Harris, Kevin Kilner, Zeljko Ivanek, and Calista Flockhart, recreating their original roles from the Tony Award-winning Broadway production. One of Williams' classics: A delicate memory-play about an eccentric Southern family, revolving around the domineering Amanda Wingfield and her grown children: the cynical Tom and the fragile Laura.
"Tale of the Allergist's Wife"
9/15/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Charles Busch, starring Amy Aquino, Estelle Harris, JoBeth Williams, Richard Kind, and Dileep Rao. A raucous comedy from one of America's most outrageous playwrights! New York dilettante Marjorie Taub plunges into a mid-life crisis of Medea-like proportions, until she's shaken out of her lethargy by the reappearance of a fascinating childhood friend. The New York Times declares: "...wall-to-wall laughs!"
"Anna in the Tropics"
9/8/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Nilo Cruz, starring Jimmy Smits, Alma Martinez, Jonathan Nichols, Winston Rocha, Onahoua Rodriguez, and Herbert Siguenza. This 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winner is set in a cigar-rolling factory in 1929 Florida. A new "lector" arrives ... who reads "Anna Karenina" aloud to entertain and educate the workers. But he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics, and the American Dream prove a volatile combination. Includes an interview with Jimmy Smits.
"Breaking the Code"
9/1/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Hugh Whitemore, starring Simon Templeman and W. Morgan Sheppard. The story of the brilliant mathematician Alan Turing, who cracked the German Enigma code, and enabled the Allies to win World War II. Turing was to find that the country he saved cared less about his genius than his sexual orientation.
"Falsettos"
8/25/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Book by James Lapine and William Finn; music and lyrics by William Finn; starring Michael Rupert, Chip Zien, and Stephen Bogardus (from the Original Broadway Cast). The 1992 Tony Award-winning Broadway Hit! A family gets turned upside down when Dad moves in with his male lover, and his wife marries his psychiatrist. Is love enough to keep them a family?
"Fabulation, or: The Re-Education of Undine"
8/18/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Lynn Nottage, starring Charlayne Woodard. Knocked up and seriously broke, a successful publicist is plunged into a topsy-turvy world of welfare mothers and drug addicts, and forced to confront the family she left behind. A darkly comic rags-to-riches tale of falling down and reaching up to find the goodness within.
"Barefoot in the Park"
8/11/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Neil Simon, starring Laura Linney and Eric Stoltz. A lawyer and his new bride return from their honeymoon and are moving into a new apartment. Once there, they find the place is bare of furniture, the paint job is wrong, the skylight leaks, and wacky neighbours keep popping up. Includes an interview with Neil Simon.
"The Doctor's Dilemma"
8/4/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By George Bernard Shaw, starring Roy Dotrice, Martin Jarvis, Jane Carr, Jennifer Dundas, Ken Danziger, and Paxton Whitehead. The blowhards, the know-it-alls, the scrupulous, and the impecunious are all targets for Shaw's incisive wit in his classic satire of the medical profession. A well-respected physician is forced to choose whom he shall save: a bumbling friend or the ne'er-do-well husband of the woman he loves.
"Round and Round the Garden"
(Part 3 of "The Norman Conquests")
7/28/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Alan Ayckbourn, starring Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Carolyn Seymour, Ken Danziger, Jane Leeves, and Christopher Neame. The third "battle" of Ayckbourn's trilogy, "The Norman Conquests," returns us to the same weekend in the country, but this time to the quiet setting of Mother's overgrown English country garden. Something more troublesome than brambles is lurking among the roses. Havoc ensues among the flora and fauna, as this cynical masterpiece makes its way to a hilarious conclusion. Includes an interview with Alan Ayckbourn.
"Living Together"
(Part 2 of "The Norman Conquests")
7/21/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Alan Ayckbourn, starring Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Carolyn Seymour, Ken Danziger, Jane Leeves, and Christopher Neame. In the second "battle" of Ayckbourn's trilogy, "The Norman Conquests," we rejoin the family weekend, this time hearing the events in the livingroom, where Norman gets drunk on homemade dandelion wine – and all hell breaks loose. Norman unleashes his merry brand of manipulative charm on the hapless guests, and even his most formidable opponents go down in defeat on the drawing-room rug. Includes an interview with Alan Ayckbourn.
"Table Manners" and "Her Big Chance"
7/14/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
DOUBLE BILL:
"Table Manners" (Part 1 of "The Norman Conquests")
By Alan Ayckbourn, starring Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Carolyn Seymour, Ken Danziger, Jane Leeves, and Christopher Neame. A notorious seducer of other men's wives (Martin Jarvis) lays siege to his sister-in-law in the first "battle" of the great British playwright Alan Ayckbourn's celebrated trilogy, "The Norman Conquests." In the dining-room of Mother's house, a conventional middle-class family is attempting to enjoy a pleasant country weekend. But they are no match for Norman, who horrifies everyone by doing exactly what he likes...
And:
"Her Big Chance"
By Alan Bennett, starring Glenne Headley. From the pen of one of the outstanding playwrights of his generation, Alan Bennett ("History Boys"), this monologue stars Glenne Headley as a young actress who takes herself quite seriously, although we doubt that you will. Directed by John Mahoney ("Frasier").
"The Ruby Sunrise"
7/7/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Rinne Groff, starring Henry Winkler, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Ritter, and Asher Book. Hailed by the Boston Globe as "a gem." A 1920s tomboy feverishly works to develop her latest invention – a little something called "television." 25 years later, her daughter will stop at nothing to bring her mother's incredible story to life during TV's Golden Age. Features an interview with Karen Herman, director of the Archive of American Television at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation.
"The Man Who Had All the Luck"
6/30/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Arthur Miller, starring Kurtwood Smith, Graham Hamilton, Emily Bergl, and Kevin Chamberlin. An off-beat fable about David Beeves, a young Midwesterner who has good fortune shine on him while it passes others by. When will David's luck run out... and at what price?
"J. Edgar"
6/23/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Tom Leopold, Peter Matz, and Harry Shearer. Starring John Goodman, Kelsey Grammer, Harry Shearer, Dan Castellaneta, and Christopher Guest. A sidesplitting musical about one of the most powerful men of the 20th Century. Learn about his secret love life, his need for personal privacy, and his obsession with knowing the private affairs of others. If you weren't so busy laughing and humming the tunes, the show might upset you! Includes an interview with Harry Shearer.
"The Rose Tattoo"
6/16/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Tennessee Williams, starring Mercedes Ruehl and Anthony LaPaglia. A passionate comedy about old love lost, and new love found, in the lives of a family of Sicilian immigrants. Mercedes Ruehl plays a widow who pays back her husband for his infidelities by making her own assignation with an obliging truck driver (Anthony LaPaglia). Includes an interview with Mercedes Ruehl.
"Fallen Angels"
6/9/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Noel Coward, starring Annette Bening, Judith Ivey, and Joe Mantegna. Two smart, respectable married women, living a life of passionless boredom, whip themselves into a frenzy while awaiting the arrival of their former French lover. Coward brings his trademark wit, charm, and satire to this tale of sexual shenanigans amongst the British upperclasses. Includes an interview with Joe Mantegna.
"An Immaculate Misconception"
6/2/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Carl Djerassi, starring Jobeth Williams, Philip Casnoff, and Kevin Kilner. Melanie Laidlaw is developing the first use of ICSI (artificial insemination). Her colleague, Dr. Felix Krankenthaler, turns out to have his own ideas about how to best implement their pioneering procedure. The wild card is Melanie's lover – a fellow scientist. A darkly comic love triangle. Includes an interview with Dr. Carl Djerassi.
"Misalliance"
5/26/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By George Bernard Shaw, starring Roger Rees, Eric Stoltz, Tegan West, Douglas Weston, and Victoria Tennant. The play takes place on a single day in May 1909. A self-made millionaire and his family invite their future nobleman-in-law for a visit to their estate in Surrey, England. In this delightfully clever play, issues of gender, class, politics, and family are all targets for Shaw's keen wit.
"Sight Unseen"
5/19/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Donald Margulies, starring Adam Arkin, Anna Gunn, Jordan Baker, and Randy Ogelsby. Jonathan Waxman is a hugely successful artist. He receives exorbitant prices for his works, sight unseen. But a visit with his original muse and lover causes him to re-evaluate the success that now controls him. This Obie-Award-winning drama explores the artist's role in society, the commerce of art, and the complications of love and memory.
"The Busy World is Hushed"
5/12/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Keith Bunin, starring Jill Clayburgh, Hamish Linklater, and Luke MacFarlane. With wisdom, humor, and insight, this examines the contradictions we find in our faith, our families, and ourselves. Hannah, a widowed Episcopal minister, is hoping to translate a long-lost gospel when she is challenged by both her scholarly assistant and her wayward gay son. But when family secrets are revealed, only the intercession of a stranger can help Hannah find peace. Variety calls the play "Dramatically and emotionally absorbing."
"The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial"
5/5/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Adapted from the orignal trial transcripts by Peter Goodchild. Starring Ed Asner, Mike Farrell, and Sharon Gless. The definitive recording from our extremely successful 24-city national tour of this fascinating docudrama. A compelling re-creation of the infamous 1925 trial of young science teacher John Thomas Scopes which sparked the evolution vs. creationism debate that still rages today. You're a fly on the wall at "the trial of the century." Passion and controversy ignite at the 1925 "Scopes Trial." It's Darwinism versus religion – and 80 years later the issues still divide us. Based on the original court transcripts. This L.A. performance is the grand finale to our 22-city national tour.
"Orson's Shadow"
4/28/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Austin Pendleton, starring Glenne Headly, Martin Jarvis, Simon Templeman, and Robert Machray. Sir Laurence Olivier. Orson Welles. Vivien Leigh. Joan Plowright. Kenneth Tynan. When these champions of the theatre get together to rehearse Ionesco's Rhinoceros, mere mortals best step aside. With lightning wit and scathing insight into the true nature of genius, Austin Pendleton's new play opens the private worlds of these very public people, exposing their warmth, their egos, and their glittering madness.
"The Watts Towers Project" and "Wild Amerika"
4/21/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written and performed by Roger Guenveur Smith ("Watts") and Erica Schickel ("Wild Amerika").
"The Watts Towers Project" is Smith's edgy and funny take on Simon Rodia, the Italian immigrant who spent 33 years building his towers – only to walk away from them and never return. From this story, Roger Guenveur Smith ("A Huey P. Newton Story") builds a multi-faceted portrait of Los Angeles.
From hot marital sex to Julia Child's own recipe for the perfect French kiss, "Wild Amerika" takes you on a hilarious, Darwinist romp through mating, marriage, and monogamy. Erika Schickel is a canary in the coalmine of modern day American womanhood.
"The Odd Couple"
4/14/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Neil Simon, starring Nathan Lane, David Paymer, Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, and Linda Pearl. Poker buddies Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison suddenly find themselves bachelors again and innocently decide to share an apartment. In this classic comedy by America's most prolific and successful playwright, these two legendarily mismatched roommates bring down the house when they try to live together in one eight-room New York City apartment.
"Proof"
4/7/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Note: "Proof" marks the premiere of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series, a monthly broadcast featuring plays that explore the impact of science on individuals and society. This series is also being published as a podcast; visit our podcasting page for more information on how to subscribe.
By David Auburn, starring Anne Heche, Robert Foxworth, and Jeremy Sisto. An enigmatic young woman. A manipulative sister. Their brilliant father. An unexpected suitor. One life-altering question. The search for the truth behind a mysterious mathematical proof is the perplexing problem in David Auburn's dynamic play. Winner of the 2001 Tony award for Best Play and the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Includes an interview with Dr. Robert Osserman (Emeritus Professor at Stanford) on the culture of mathematics and the nature and history of mathematical proofs.
"Working"
3/31/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, based on the book by Studs Terkel, starring Harry Groener, Kaitlin Hopkins, and Orson Bean. This musical, based on Terkel's interviews with American workers, was first published in 1972. It features real people talking and singing about real experiences, bringing to life the soul of the American worker.
"Taking Flight"
3/24/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written and performed by Adriana Sevan. Sevan's one-woman play tells the mystical, humorous, and poignant tale of friendship tested by a tragedy, and of the resilience of the human heart. "A first-rate storytelling solo performer for those who cherish words." (The Hollywood Reporter)
"Mimi's Guide"
3/17/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Doris Baizley, starring Powers Boothe and Frances Conroy. The sensuality of Louisiana's humid, jasmine-scented air permeates this love triangle about three people who are haunted by the memories of the Vietnam war.
"Hay Fever"
3/10/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Noel Coward, starring Eric Stolz, Tate Donovan, Carolyn Seymour, and Jeffrey Jones. A country house weekend goes haywire when the guests and their hosts play a game of romantic musical chairs. Wit, sexual sophistication, and Coward's biting satire of the theatre profession.
"An American Daughter"
3/3/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Wendy Wasserstein, starring Mary McDonnell, Gregory Itzin, and Kevin McCarthy. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein spins a comic and moving tale about the pitfalls that await political appointees. Dr. Lyssa Hughes is a respected health crusader, devoted wife and mother, and the perfect candidate for U.S. Surgeon General... until a chance remark sets off a media feeding frenzy.
"Mary Stuart" (U.S. Premiere!)
2/24/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Friedrich von Schiller, in a new translation by Peter Oswald; starring Alex Kingston, Simon Templeman, Jill Gascoine, Martin Jarvis, and W. Morgan Sheppard. Elizabeth I of England is threatened by the survival of her Catholic cousin, Mary Stuart. Wrestling with her own conscience, the Queen agonizes over Mary's fate, amidst fears for her own life. Court intrigue has never been more gripping than in this "acute study in the art of double-dealing politics" (The New York Times).
"Master Harold and the Boys"
2/17/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Athol Fugard, starring Leon Addison Brown, Keith David, and Bobby Steggart. One of theatre's most acclaimed playwrights finds humor and heartbreak in the friendship of Harold, a 17-year-old white boy in 1950s South Africa, and the two middle-aged black servants who raised him. Racism unexpectedly shatters Harold's childhood and friendships in this absorbing, affecting coming-of-age play.
"Sixteen Wounded"
2/10/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Eliam Kraiem, starring Annabelle Gurwitch, Omar Metwally, Megan Austin Oberle, Martin Rayner, and Andre Sogliuzzo. The fateful collision of a lonely Jewish Baker and a passionate Palestinian sets in motion a deepening friendship, as the two struggle with identity and loyalty to their beliefs and to each other. An act of violence brought them together. Will another tear them apart?
"In Real Life"
2/3/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Charlayne Woodard. Woodard's acclaimed solo show is the last part of her autobiographical trilogy (after "Pretty Fire" and "Neat"). She recounts her days as a struggling young New York actress and the unusual characters who touched her life. As Charlayne describes it: "This play is about a young girl pursuing her dream, only to bump up against the harsh realities of life"...
"Worksong"
1/27/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Jeffrey Hatcher and Eric Simonson, starring Robert Foxworth, Amy Brenneman, Kathryn Meisle, Matthew Patrick Davis, Sean Dougherty, and Kali Rocha. Tensions between the masterful Frank Lloyd Wright and his tempestuous relationships are explored in this uniquely prismatic view of one of the great architects of the modern era. How did Wright's art continue to thrive amid so much personal chaos?
"Orphans"
1/20/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Lyle Kessler, starring John Mahoney, Kevin Anderson, and Terry Kinney. Two orphan brothers live in a rundown house. Into their savage and ferociously funny world enters Harold, a shadowy underworld figure of power and influence who irrevocably changes the precarious balance between them.
"M. Butterfly"
1/13/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By David Henry Hwang, starring John Lithgow, B.D. Wong, Margaret Cho, David Dukes, Joanna Frank, Arye Gross, Kathryn Layng. John Lithgow and B.D. Wong recreate their original roles from the Tony Award-winning production. Inspired by an actual espionage scandal: a French diplomat discovers the truth about his Chinese mistress.
"Mizlansky/Zilinsky"
1/6/07
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Jon Robin Baitz. Starring Nathan Lane, Paul Sand, Richard Masur, Rob Morrow, Grant Shaud, Julie Kavner, Harry Shearer, and Kurtwood Smith. Nathan Lane stars as Hollywood producer Davis Mizlansky. He has it all: Italian shoes, a house in the hills, a gift for stretching the truth, and a petulant assistant to pick the scallions out of his Szechuan noodles. But he's about to lose it all to the IRS – unless he can pull off one more deal...
"The Cocktail Hour"
12/30/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By A.R. Gurney. Bruce Davison and Keene Curtis recreate their brilliant Off-Broadway performances in this sophisticated comedy. A gadfly son shatters his uptight WASP parents' veneer of civility in upstate New York by announcing that his soon-to-be-produced play is about them. Features an interview with Bruce Davison.
"Twentieth Century"
12/23/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, newly adapted by Ken Ludwig. A smash hit on Broadway in 2004, this classic screwball comedy set aboard a luxury train stars Jeff Perry as egomaniacal, down-on-his-luck Broadway producer Oscar Jaffe. Lily Garland, the chorus girl who left Oscar once she became a famous starlet, is also aboard, and Oscar tries desperately to lure her back for one more show.
"Another Time"
12/16/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Ronald Harwood. Alternating between 1950s Capetown and contemporary London, this deeply human and complex drama weighs the price that a gifted musician's single-minded devotion to his art exacts upon his relationships with his family. Starring Stacy Keach, Alice Krige, Jeffrey Jones, Lars Carlson, and Miriam Margolyes.
"A Lesson before Dying"
12/9/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Romulus Linney, based on the award-winning novel by Ernest Gaines. Starring Keith Glover, Jamahl Marsh, Linda Powell, and Beatrice Winde. When a young black man is condemned to die for a crime he didn't commit, he faces the ultimate test of life: learning how to die with dignity.
"Cakewalk"
12/2/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Peter Feibleman. Elaine Stritch and Bruce Davison star in this beguiling account of literary legend Lillian Hellman, and her long and tumultuous relationship with a man 25 years her junior. The broadcast includes an interview with Hellman's biographer, Joan Mellen.
John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," adapted by Frank Galati
11/25/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By John Steinbeck, adapted by Frank Galati, and starring Emily Bergl, Shirley Knight, Francis Guinan, and Jeffrey Donovan. An "L.A. Theatre Works" Thanksgiving tradition, "The Grapes of Wrath" tells the compelling story of The Joads, a displaced family whose journey takes them from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the fertile, but futile, fields of California in the early 1930s.
"Johnny on a Spot"
11/18/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Charles MacArthur, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brad Hall, John Rubinstein, and Gary Kroeger. A rollicking 1940s political satire about radio, cynical newsmen, rigged elections, corrupt politicians, and sex scandals. Uproariously funny!
"Halcyon Days"
11/11/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Steven Dietz, starring Anne Archer, Ed Begley, Jr., Richard Masur, and Christopher McDonald. Senator Eddie Bowman cannot see the point of invading a miniscule Caribbean island to rescue a bunch of overly tanned medical students. But as the 1983 invasion of Grenada gets underway, the Senator finds himself at odds with a mysterious foreign-policy specialist who cultivates roses, the President's sexy new speechwriter – and his own son. The broadcast includes an interview with playwright Steven Dietz.
"An Ideal Husband"
11/4/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Oscar Wilde, starring Jacqueline Bisset, Alfred Molina, Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Yeardley Smith, and Miriam
Margolyes. With empathy and wit, Wilde explores the plight of a promising politician desperate to hide a secret in his past. This 1895 comic drama
remains remarkably timely as it examines the pitfalls of holding public figures to higher standards than the rest of us. The broadcast includes an
interview with director Michael Hackett.
"War of the Worlds"
10/28/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By H.G. Wells, adapted by Howard Koch. Leonard Nimoy, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, and fellow cast members from the TV series "Star Trek" recreate this classic science fiction thriller, which became known as the "panic broadcast" when it first aired in 1938. The story's breathless pace and convincing details make it clear why so many believed that the aliens were among us. The broadcast includes a hilarious reprisal of "My Favorite Husband," the CBS radio series that inspired "I Love Lucy," by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Marilu Henner stars as Liz Cooper, the Lucille Ball character. Jeff Conaway, Harold Gould, and Alley Mills also star.
"Bunbury"
10/21/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Tom Jacobson, starring Peter Paige, Kathryn Hahn, Jean Gilpin, and John Vickery. What if... Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending? Or Blanche Dubois didn't go crazy? Or the Three Sisters actually made it to Moscow? When he discovers he's only a fictitious, never-seen character in Oscar Wilde's timeless "The Importance of Being Earnest," Bunbury joins forces with Rosaline, Romeo's never-seen obsession from Romeo and Juliet. Together they infiltrate and alter classic literature, starting by accidentally giving Romeo and Juliet a happy ending. The broadcast includes an interview with playwright Tom Jacobson.
"Incident at Vichy"
10/14/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Arthur Miller, starring Gregory Itzin, Lawrence Pressman, and Raphael Sbarge. In Vichy, France, in 1942, nine men are detained under a shadowy pretext. As the tension builds, the men are questioned – are they the sort of people whom the new Nazi regime considers "inferior?"
"The Foreigner"
10/7/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Larry Shue, starring Paxton Whitehead, Joey Slotnick, Dina Waters, and Kate Williamson. In this delightful farce, two Englishmen go on holiday in rural Georgia. One tells their American hosts that his painfully shy friend is a foreigner who knows no English. This "foreigner" gets an earful when the locals, who think he can't understand them, spill all their secrets.
"The Real Dr. Strangelove"
9/30/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Peter Goodchild, based on his book of the same name. The play stars Simon Templeman, Joe Spano, and John de Lancie. The birth of Armageddon. The first H-bomb detonates and the proud father is Edward Teller. But he's on a collision course with Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the bomb that obliterated Hiroshima. Now Oppenheimer has turned pacifist and the government will stop at nothing to neutralize him. And Teller is their willing and determined star witness!
"Murder in the First"
9/23/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Dan Gordon, starring Edward Asner, John Randolph, Arye Gross, and David Birney. This moving courtroom drama is
based on a true incident that exposed the shocking conditions at Alcatraz, and led to the closure of the notorious prison. The tale begins when 18-year-old Willie Moore makes the biggest mistake of his life: stealing five dollars from a rural store that happens to contain a post office. Charged with mail robbery, he's sent to federal prison, and ultimately spends three years in solitary on the dreaded island of Alcatraz.
"Brighton Beach Memoirs"
9/16/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Neil Simon's darkly funny look at his family in 1930s Brooklyn. Fourteen-year-old Eugene is equally preoccupied by his passion for the Yankees and his lust for his beautiful cousin Nora. But his comic growing pains contrast with the darker issues troubling his
family: Poverty, illness, and the Nazi threat to relatives in Europe. Max Casella, Valerie Harper, Jonathan Silverman, and Joyce Van Patten star.
"Pack of Lies"
9/9/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Hugh Whitemore, starring Julian Sands, David Selby, Rosalind Ayres and Martin Jarvis. Actual events during the Cold War inspired this thriller with present-day relevance in the current era of the Patriot Act. In suburban London, loyalty, duty, and friendship conflict with one another when the Jacksons slowly discover that the Krogers, their neighbors and cherished best friends, are Russian spies. A gripping play that may leave you wondering exactly what it is those nice people next door are really up to.
"Fired Again!"
9/2/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
In honor of Labor Day Weekend: "Fired Again!" -- stories from the book "Fired! Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized and Dismissed" by Annabelle Gurwitch. Actress Annabelle Gurwitch returns with further tales from fellow show-biz veterans of jobs gone wrong, offering new insights and more laughter. Don't miss this hilarious sequel to last year's hit show "Fired!"
"The Ride Down Mt. Morgan"
8/26/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Arthur Miller, starring Brian Cox, Jenny O'Hara, Amy Pietz, and Gregory Itzin. Lyman Felt has it all. Wealth, success, power, and the kind of good, solid wife he needs. Oh, and he also has another wife, the kind of earthy, sexy woman he wants. Lyman juggles his artful lie until a car accident on the slippery slope of Mt. Morgan lands him in a hospital bed and the two wives in the waiting room. But really, is there any such thing as "just an accident?"
"Ruby McCollum"
8/19/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Ron Milner and Steve Albrezzi, based on the book "Ruby McCollum, Woman in the Suwannee Jail" by William Bradford Huie. A trail of lies, secrets, and racial prejudices are uncovered when a pair of journalists, Zora Neal Hurston and William Bradford Huie, investigate the murder of a white doctor by an affluent African-American woman. Based on a true case in South Florida in 1952, this suspenseful drama has powerful implications to this day, posing questions of fairness and justice in a small Southern town. Starring Loretta Devine, Shirley Knight, Paul Winfield, Ronny Cox, Charlie Robinson, and John Randolph.
"The Fiery Furnace"
8/12/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Timothy Mason, starring Julie Harris, Shannon Cochran, and William Fichtner. Around a family dining table deep in the Heartland, where Senator Joe McCarthy once sat and discussed his fondness for beets, nothing is as it seems. Gunnar, the family patriarch, is an upstanding farmer - or is he? Why is his favorite daughter so anxious to flee to Chicago? And why does her mother want to go too? Daughter Charity, a devoted wife and mother, is clearly frightened of something. Her husband, Jerry, hates anything un-American, but refuses to serve in Korea. As the mysteries multiply, author Timothy Mason solves them with wit and unrelenting suspense.
"A Huey P. Newton Story"
8/5/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written and performed by Roger Guenveur Smith. Winner of two Obie Awards, the Helen Hayes Award, and three N.A.A.C.P. Awards, this solo portrait traces the mythic rise and fall of the Black Panther Party leader based on his own brilliant, incendiary words. Roger Guenveur Smith navigates Newton's cinematic stream of consciousness from his Louisiana childhood to his untimely death on the streets of Oakland, California in 1989.
"The Code of the Woosters"
7/29/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By P.G. Wodehouse. The best known of the Bertie and Jeeves series stars Rosalind Ayres and Martin Jarvis. Bertie gets himself in a comical jam and, as always, his trusted valet Jeeves is on hand with a last-minute brainstorm to set everything straight.
"Arms and the Man"
7/22/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By George Bernard Shaw, starring Teri Garr, Anne Heche, and Jeremy Sisto. The beautiful and headstrong Raina eagerly awaits her fiancé's victorious return from battle... but instead meets an enemy soldier who seeks asylum in her bedroom. This is one soldier who definitely prefers romance and chocolate to the heat of battle. War may be raging on the battlefield, but it's the battle of the sexes that heats up this extraordinary comedy and offers very different notions of love and war. The broadcast includes an interview with "Arms and the Man" director and L.A. Theatre Works Associate Producer Brendon Fox.
"Falsettos"
7/15/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Book by William Finn and James Lapine, music and lyrics by William Finn; starring Michael Rupert, Chip Zien, and Stephen Bogardus from the original Broadway cast. This 1992 Tony Award winner chronicles the transformation of a modern family through the turbulent 1980s as Dad moves in with his male lover.
"Crimes of the Heart"
7/8/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Beth Henley, starring Donna Bullock, Sondra Locke, Arye Gross, and Glenne Headly. A deeply touching and funny story about three eccentric sisters from a small Southern town rocked by scandal when Babe, the youngest, shoots her husband. "Crimes of the Heart" won the
1981 Pulitzer Prize.
"All My Sons"
7/1/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Arthur Miller, starring Julie Harris, James Farentino, and Arye Gross. World War II is over and a family, mourning a son missing in action, plants a memorial tree and tries to go on with their own lives. A storm blows down the tree and a devastating family secret is uprooted, setting the characters on a terrifying journey towards truth. A classic American drama by the late Arthur Miller.
"Buying Time"
6/24/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Michael Weller, starring Michael Gross. In "Buying Time," members of a progressive law firm in the American West struggle to hold onto their ideals in the economic realities of the '90s.
"The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial"
6/17/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
A new play by Peter Goodchild, taken from the original sources and trial transcripts, starring Ed Asner, Mike Farrell, and Sharon Gless. Hear the definitive recording from L.A. Theatre Works' extremely successful 24-city national tour of this fascinating radio docudrama! The play is a compelling recreation of the infamous 1925 trial of young science teacher John Thomas Scopes which sparked the evolution vs. creationism debate that still rages today.
"WorldPlay"
6/10/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Radio drama by international broadcasters. "WorldPlay" is a unique event in which international English language broadcasters exchange and air each other's radio drama productions, giving listeners a chance to hear plays from countries around the world. From Ireland's broadcaster Radio Telefís Éireann is "Jumping for Joy" by Bernard Farrell, a funny and heartfelt tale of a widower who finds himself parachuting out of an airplane at a charity event to impress his new love, a much younger woman. From Radio New Zealand is "In Salt" by Tim Spite, Andrew Foster and others, a gothic-drama set in colonial New Zealand that examines the resonance of cultural cross-pollination.
"Aliens in America"
6/3/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written and performed by Sandra Tsing Loh. Contemporary satirist Loh spins a darkly comic, semi-autobiographical tale of growing up middle-class Chinese-German in Southern California. This comic monologue is for sons and daughters everywhere who feel that their parents must have beamed to Earth from another planet. The broadcast includes an interview with Sandra Tsing Loh.
"Of One Blood"
5/27/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Andrew White, starring David Schwimmer, Joey Slotnick, and Arye Gross. "Of One Blood" is a poignant and disturbing play about the infamous murder of three civil rights workers - James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner – in Mississippi in 1964. The broadcast includes an interview with Rita Bender, Michael Schwerner's wife in 1964.
"Top Girls"
5/20/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Caryl Churchill, starring Amy Brenneman, Concetta Tomei, and Carolyn Seymour. It's the middle of the high-flying, go-getting '80s in Maggie Thatcher's England, and Marlene finally has something to celebrate -- she's just been made managing director of Top Girls Employment Agency. But as she has no friends to speak of, and a past she'd just as soon forget, the guests at Marlene's party are a collection of famous women from history. Soon, Marlene discovers that life above the glass ceiling is not all it's cracked up to be. A bold, searing comedy from an Olivier Award-winning playwright.
"Emma's Child"
5/13/06
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Kristine Thatcher, starring David Darlow and Jackie Katzman. "Emma's Child" explores the idea of commitment, in a marriage, as a parent. Told gently, lovingly, and with unexpected humor, this is the story of a childless couple struggling to decide whether to continue the adoption process when the baby they had hoped for is born severely disabled.
"Zoot Suit"
5/6/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Luis Valdez, starring Marco Rodriguez and El Teatro Campesino. Masterfully using the Sleepy Lagoon murder case to examine the Chicano Zoot Suit Culture of the '40s, "Zoot Suit" is passionate and provocative, and pulses with the beat of Big Band Music and traditional Latin Songs.
"Pride and Prejudice"
4/29/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Jane Austen, adapted for the stage by Cristina Calvit, and starring Miriam Margolyes and Kate Burton. Jane Austen's classic romantic comedy is the sparkling tale of the Bennets, a family blessed with five daughters and a mother desperate to marry them off. The tempestuous pairing of the witty, independent Elizabeth and her arrogant but honorable suitor, Mr. Darcy, sets the standard for all great couples of stage and screen.
"Denial"
4/22/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Peter Sagal, starring Stephanie Zimbalist, David Clennon, and Harold Gould. A prominent Jewish civil liberties attorney must choose
between defending a right-wing Holocaust denier - a man whose views she despises - or abandoning a client whom she believes deserves a defense. It is the story of the ultimate struggle to determine what is right and what is wrong.
"Lost in Yonkers"
4/15/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Neil Simon, starring Barbara Bain, Dan Castellaneta, Gia Carides, and Arye Gross. Set in Yonkers in 1942, the play follows two teenage boys who must spend one year with their austere and demanding grandmother. While the war rages in Europe, Jay and Arty learn the ropes from Uncle Louie and other assorted relatives, all peculiar characters.
"Molly Sweeney"
4/8/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Brian Friel, starring Jenny Bacon, Robert Breuler, and Rick Snyder. Set in a remote Irish village, "Molly Sweeney" is the
compelling story of a woman's journey from blindness to vision. Both Molly's husband and her surgeon harbor expectations of a sighted world for Molly. The future they envision is very different from the one Molly hopes to see. Through the masterful writing of the great Irish playwright Brian Friel, the insights and inner lives of the three characters eloquently unfold in a series of interlocking monologues, producing a stunning exploration of triumph and loss.
"The Member of the Wedding"
4/1/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Carson McCullers, starring Ruby Dee and Jena Malone. Set in the American South of the 1940s, this coming of age story about a lonely, overimaginative twelve-year-old girl and the black cook to whom she pours out her heart is one of the most beautiful plays ever written about loneliness, longing, and love. This stirring work won the New York Drama Critics' Prize for Best American Play of 1950. The broadcast includes an interview with Ruby Dee.
"A Tale of Charles Dickens"
3/25/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Janet Dulin Jones and Paul Lazarus, starring members of L.A.'s critically-acclaimed Antaeus Company. London in the 1830s - the most colorful and chaotic city in the world - and young journalist Charles Dickens is uncovering a dark conspiracy of arson and murder. A fanciful look at the man before he became the iconic author we know today.
"Twelve Angry Men"
3/18/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Reginald Rose, starring Hector Elizondo, Dan Castellaneta, Robert Foxworth, Jeffrey Donovan and Armin Shimerman. Over the course of a steamy, tense afternoon, twelve jurors deliberate the fate of a 19-year-old boy alleged to have murdered his own father. A seemingly open and shut case turns complicated, igniting passions and hidden prejudices. The broadcast includes an interview with Mrs. Reginald Rose.
"This Town"
3/11/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Sidney Blumenthal, starring Richard Kind, Gates
McFadden, and John Randolph. Former political journalist and Presidential
advisor Sidney Blumenthal gives us a fly-on-the-wall look inside the
well-groomed Washington Press Corps. They yawn when they hear about peace
treaties - but snap to attention at the chance to uncover a little dirt on
the First Dog! An on-the-money political satire! The broadcast includes an
interview with Sidney Blumenthal.
"Betrayal"
3/4/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Harold Pinter, starring Caroline Goodall, Eric Stoltz and Simon Templeman. This fascinating play charts a doomed love triangle backwards through time. More than a study in style, this astonishing story is a passionate, mysterious play about memory, illusion and love. The broadcast includes two monologues from Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads" - "A Chip in the Sugar" starring Alan Wilder and "Bed Among the Lentils" with Martha Levy.
"McReele"
2/25/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Stephen Belber, starring Lauren Tom, Deidrie Henry,
Chris Butler and Eric Stoltz. Darius McReele goes from death row prisoner
to charismatic front-runner in a Delaware Senate race. But the "spin" is
spinning out of control. Is he doing the right thing for the wrong reasons,
or the wrong thing for the right reasons? And does it ultimately matter? A
riveting tale of truth, lies, and honor.
"Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine"
2/18/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutesw]
By Lynn Nottage. Knocked-up and seriously broke, successful publicist Undine, played by Charlayne Woodard, is plunged into a topsy-turvy world of welfare mothers and drug addicts, and forced to confront the family she left behind. It's a darkly comic
rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of falling down and reaching up to find the goodness within. Daniel Breaker, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Melle Powers and Myra Lucretia Taylor also star.
"Neat"
2/11/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written and performed by Charlayne Woodard. Obie Award-winning actress Charlayne Woodard shares her memories of growing up black in America in the 60's and 70's. "Neat" focuses on her own exquisite, real-life remembrance of her Aunt Beneatha, Neat, whose simplicity and magnificent clarity taught the young Charlayne what it is to cherish life. The broadcast includes an interview with Charlayne Woodard.
"The Heidi Chronicles"
2/4/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Wendy Wasserstein, starring Kaitlin Hopkins, Martha Plimpton and Grant Shaud. This Pulitzer Prize winning play is the tale of a baby-boomer's long, hard road from 60's confusion to 1990's self-assured woman...or so she hopes. In honor of Wendy Wasserstein, audio for 'The Heidi Chronicles' will remain in full for an additional week for listeners to enjoy the show.
"Prelude to a Kiss"
1/28/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Craig Lucas, starring Arabella Field, Tate Donovan and Charles Durning. A whirlwind courtship. A storybook wedding. A kiss for the bride. And suddenly everything changes. When Peter and Rita's brand-new marriage is strained by a magical twist of fate, true love will never again mean quite the same thing. This Tony-nominated play enchants! The broadcast includes an interview with playwright Craig Lucas.
"An Immaculate Misconception"
1/21/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Carl Djerassi, starring JoBeth Williams and
Kevin Kilner. Scientist Dr. Melanie Laidlaw is intent on giving birth using
the reproductive technology that she is pioneering. However, before Melanie
can claim credit for either the scientific discovery or motherhood, she must
overcome the professional designs of another research scientist. Although
the characters are fictional in "An Immaculate Misconception," the science
is fact. A fascinating play by the father of the birth control pill.
"The Road to Mecca"
1/14/2006
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Athol Fugard, South Africa's most celebrated playwright. When her husband dies, aging Miss Helen begins to fill her home in the remote South African bush with strange sculptures made from beer cans and old headlights. A local clergyman and a young friend disagree on whether Miss Helen's peculiar artwork is an outpouring of creativity or an outbreak of madness. Starring Julie Harris, Amy Irving and Harris Yulin.
"Anna Christie"
1/7/2006
[ Listen]
By Eugene O'Neill, starring Alison Elliott, Alley Mills, and Stacy Keach. The passion of a coal barge captain's daughter and a handsome sailor takes a tumultuous turn when secrets from her past are revealed. Nobel Laureate Eugene O'Neill won the second of his four Pulitzer Prizes for this heroic classic. The broadcast includes an interview with Stacy Keach.
"Adam's Rib"
12/31/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Based on the screenplay by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, adapted by David Rambo and starring Adam Arkin and Anne Heche. A happily married couple’s relationship is put to the test when husband and wife find themselves serving as trial attorneys on opposite sides of the same headline-making, attempted murder, marital case – he as the prosecutor, she as the defender. The comical fireworks displayed in the courtroom follow these two home, creating a clever and extremely funny portrait of love and work. The broadcast includes a group interview with stars Adam Arkin, Anne Heche, and Amy Pietz, director Gordon Hunt, and writer David Rambo.
"Fallen Angels"
12/24/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Noel Coward, starring Annette Bening, Joe Mantegna and Judith Ivey. Julia & Fred and Willy & Jane are happily married and the best of friends until a postcard arrives with news of the imminent arrival of a certain handsome Frenchman. This is Coward at his inimitable best - gay, debonair and utterly sophisticated - in the style that won him international acclaim as the master purveyor of high comedy in the modern theatre.
"In the Name of Security"
12/17/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Peter Goodchild, starring David Hyde Pierce, Francis Guinan, Amy Pietz, John Rubinstein, and Erika Schickel. At the height of the Cold War, American democracy was challenged by the anti-Communist atmosphere of the McCarthy era. "In the Name of Security" re-opens two famous spy cases - the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and the trials of Alger Hiss - that rocked America between 1948 and 1954. Each program combines dramatic re-enactments based on original trial transcripts, archival material, new evidence, the latest assessments of American historians and scientists and the commentaries of relatives and friends of the accused.
"Radio Mambo: Culture Clash invades Miami"
12/10/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written and performed by Culture Clash. The acclaimed comedy troupe Culture Clash spent three months interviewing about 70 Miami residents for this mix of vignettes about urban renewal, crime, hurricanes and immigration, as well as where to get a plate of arroz con pollo served by a six foot drag queen. The broadcast includes an interview with two of the three irreverent members of Culture Clash - Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza.
"The Lucky Spot"
12/03/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley, starring Jean Smart, Jack Black, and Kurtwood Smith. It's Christmas Eve, 1938, and 15-year-old Cassidy Smith is very pregnant with the child of 40ish Reed Hooker. Cassidy is desperate to marry Reed, Reed is desperate to open Louisiana's hottest new taxi-dancing emporium, and neither are prepared for the arrival of Reed's wife, Sue Jack Hooker, a dangerous beauty who has just been let out of the penitentiary. The broadcast includes an interview
with director Belita Moreno.
Buy this Program
John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," adapted by Frank Galati
11/26/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Starring Shirley Knight, Francis Guinan and Jeffrey Donovan. A special 2 1/2 hour Thanksgiving presentation, "The Grapes of Wrath" tells the compelling story of The Joads, a displaced family whose journey takes them from the dust bowl of Oklahoma to the fertile, but futile, fields of California in the early 1930s. The broadcast includes an interview with director Richard Masur.
Buy this Program
"Shadowlands"
11/19/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By William Nicholson, starring Martin Jarvis and Harriet Harris. "Shadowlands" is the story of how C.S. Lewis - creator of the children's series "The Chronicles of Narnia" - lost his heart late in life to Joy Gresham, the American poet who began writing to him as a fan and eventually became his wife. The broadcast includes an interview with Martin Jarvis.
Buy this Program
"The Rainmaker"
11/12/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By N. Richard Nash, starring Jayne Atkinson, Jerry Hardin, Kevin Kilner, and James Morrison. H.C. Curry's farm is starved for water and his spinster daughter, Lizzie, is starved for love. Then glib, handsome Bill Starbuck blows into town. Tony-nominee Jayne Atkinson is joined by cast members from the award-winning Roundabout Theatre production of this classic Broadway hit.
Buy this Program
"The Value of Names"
11/05/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Jeffrey Sweet, starring Hector Elizondo and Garry Marshall. Thirty years ago, Benny Silverman's acting career was nearly destroyed when his friend and colleague, Leo Greshen, "named" him in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The two men haven't spoken since. Now Benny's a successful comedian with a posh home in Malibu. Leo, now a sought-after director, hasn't done badly either. In fact, Leo is in town to direct a hot new play - and Benny's beloved daughter is the star. The broadcast includes an interview with Hector Elizondo and Garry Marshall.
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"War of the Worlds"
10/29/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By H.G. Wells, adapted by Howard Koch. Leonard Nimoy, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner and fellow cast members from the TV series "Star Trek" recreate this classic science fiction thriller, which became known as the "panic broadcast" when it first aired in 1938. The story's breathless pace and convincing details make it clear why so many believed that the aliens were among us. Rounding out this broadcast of Old Time Radio Drama is a hilarious reprisal of "My Favorite Husband," the CBS radio series that inspired "I Love Lucy," by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Marilu Henner stars as Liz Cooper, the Lucille Ball character. Jeff Conaway, Harold Gould and Alley Mills also star.
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"The Brothers Karamazov"
10/22/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
From the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, dramatized by David Fishelson, starring Sharon Gless, Harry Hamlin, John Rubinstein, and Arye Gross. The passionate Karamazov brothers spring to life, led by their lecherous father, who entertains himself by drinking, womanizing, and pitting his three sons against each other. The men have plenty to fight over, including the alluring Grushenka.
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"The Baby Dance"
10/15/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Jane Anderson, starring Vallerie Landsburg and Bruce McIntosh. A desperate L.A. professional couple, unable to have children, arrange to buy the unborn baby of a dirt-poor Louisiana pair. Emotions run high and relationships hang by a thread in this passionate and heartbreaking Off-Broadway drama. The broadcast includes an interview with Jane Anderson.
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"The Sisters Rosensweig"
10/08/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Wendy Wasserstein, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, JoBeth Williams and Tony Roberts. This delightful Broadway hit chronicles the reunion of three Jewish sisters and the joys and struggles they share concerning romance, careers, childhood, and family - joys and struggles with which we all identify.
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"Blue/Orange"
10/01/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Joe Penhall, starring Daniel Davis, Matt Letscher and Teagle F. Bougere. Two psychiatrists - one new and inexperienced, the other his well-established mentor - battle over the diagnosis and treatment of Chris, a young black man who claims to be the son of African dictator Idi Amin. This dark, edgy comedy - winner of the 2001 Olivier Award for Best New Play - will leave you wondering if anyone in this threesome is sane.
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"Deed of Trust"
09/24/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Claudia Allen, starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless. A family's long-standing feud is brought to the fore when two sisters learn that their estranged brother is making a coffin and planning to pay $500 to anyone who will kill him. Set in rural Michigan in the late 1930s, this poignant comedy is a unique and memorable take on the dysfunctional family. The broadcast includes an interview with Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless.
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"Orson's Shadow"
09/17/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Austin Pendleton, starring Glenne Headly, Martin Jarvis and Simon Templeman. Sir Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Vivian Leigh. When these titans of the theatre get together, mere mortals best step aside. Austin Pendleton's play opens up the private lives of these public people, exposing their warmth, their egos and their glittering madness.
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"Anna in the Tropics"
09/10/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Nilo Cruz, starring Jimmy Smits, Adriana Sevan, Winston Rocha, and Alma Martinez. This poignant and poetic 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning play captures 1929 Florida at a time when cigars are still rolled by hand and "lectors" are employed to educate and entertain the workers. The arrival of a new lector is cause for celebration, but when he reads aloud from "Anna Karenina," he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics and the American dream prove a volatile combination. The broadcast includes an interview with Jimmy Smits.
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"The Living Room"
09/03/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Graham Greene, starring Julian Sands, Kirsten Potter, Morgan Shepherd and Judy Geeson. London in the 1950s. A mysterious house, home to a family that has seen better days, will not yield its secrets. And a love affair turns to tragedy... Greene, one of the foremost writers of the 20th century, based the play on his own passionate but doomed affairs, and his conflicted view of Catholicism. The broadcast includes an interview with the foremost biographer of Graham Greene, Dr. Norman Sherry.
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"True West"
08/27/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Sam Shepard, starring Alfred Molina, Francis Guinan, and Charlotte Rae. Pulitzer Prize-winner Sam Shepard's intense and dark comedy tells the story of estranged brothers Austin and Lee, one a nerdy Hollywood scriptwriter, the other a petty thief and drifter. Shepard, at his gritty best, compares and contrasts the reality of the two brothers by putting them in a situation where they must come to terms with each other, with themselves, and with family. The broadcast includes an interview with Alfred Molina, and a conversation about sound effects with our foley artists.
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"Breaking the Code"
08/20/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Hugh Whitemore, starring Simon Templeman and W. Morgan Sheppard. A riveting character study of Alan Turing, the brilliant British mathematician who cracked the German Enigma Code, helping to win World War II, only to find that England cared less
about his genius than his sexual orientation.
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"In Real Life"
08/13/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written and performed by Charlayne Woodard. In this final play of her autobiographical trilogy, Charlayne recounts her days as a struggling young New York actress and the unusual characters who touched her life. The broadcast includes an interview with Charlayne Woodard.
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"Proof"
08/06/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Starring Anne Heche, Robert Foxworth, Kaitlin Hopkins and Jeremy Sisto. An enigmatic young woman. A manipulative sister. Their brilliant father. An unexpected suitor. The search for the truth behind a mysterious mathematical proof is the perplexing problem in this Tony and Pulitzer prize-winning play. The broadcast includes an interview with Anne Heche.
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"J. Edgar!"
07/30/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Book and lyrics by Tom Leopold and Harry Shearer, music by Peter Matz. Kelsey Grammer portrays J. Edgar Hoover in this irreverent and hilarious musical spoof about one of the most powerful men in 20th century America. John Goodman co-stars as Clyde Tolson, Hoover's "Lifetime Assistant." The show also stars Dan Castellaneta, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest. The broadcast includes an interview with Harry Shearer.
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"Earth and Sky"
07/23/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Douglas Post, starring: Annette Bening, George Murdoch, Ed Begley, Jr., and John Mahoney. Head firmly in the clouds, Sara McKeon moves in the rarefied world of library work and poetry readings. She seems completely unsuited to investigating the sudden, brutal murder of her lover. A haunting mystery, infused with humor, poetry and urban grit.
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"Hay Fever"
07/16/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Noel Coward, starring: Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, Carolyn Seymour, and Jeffrey Jones. A country house weekend goes haywire when the guests and their hosts play a game of romantic musical chairs. This 1920's masterpiece is filled with wit, sexual sophistication and Coward's biting commentary on his own profession.
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"The Ride Down Mt. Morgan"
07/09/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Arthur Miller, starring Brian Cox, Jenny O'Hara, Amy Pietz, and Gregory Itzin. Lyman Felt has it all. Wealth,
success, power, and the kind of good, solid wife he needs. Oh, and he also
has another wife, the kind of earthy, sexy woman he wants. Lyman juggles
his artful lie until a car accident on the slippery slope of Mt. Morgan
lands him in a hospital bed and the two wives in the waiting room. But
really, is there any such thing as "just an accident?"
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"Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers"
07/02/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
By Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons, starring Edward Asner, Marsha Mason, Hector
Elizondo, and Ed Begley Jr. A timely docudrama about The Washington Post's
decision to publish The Pentagon Papers, documenting how America became
involved in Vietnam. The subsequent trial tested the parameters of the
First Amendment, pitting the public's right to know against the government's
desire for secrecy. The broadcast includes a conversation with Geoffrey
Cowan, co-author of Top Secret; Carla Robbins, Chief Diplomatic
Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal; and George Wilson, former
Military Correspondent for the Washington Post, currently a writer for the
National Journal Magazine.
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"Antigone"
06/25/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Antigone", by Jean Anouilh, in a new translation by Christopher Nixon, starring Elizabeth Marvel and Francis Guinan. The body of Polynices, Antigone's brother, has been ordered to remain unburied by Creon, the new king of Thebes. Antigone's faithfulness to her dead brother and his proper burial, and her defiance of the dictator Creon, seals her fate. Originally produced in Paris during the Nazi occupation, Anouilh's "Antigone" was seen by the French as theatre of the resistance and by the Germans as an affirmation of authority.
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"Falsettos"
06/18/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Falsettos", book by William Finn and James Lapine, music and lyrics by William Finn, starring Michael Rupert, Chip Zien, and Stephen Bogardus from the original Broadway cast. This 1992 Tony Award winner chronicles the transformation of a modern family through the turbulent 1980's as Dad moves in with his male lover.
"Going to St. Ives"
06/11/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Going to St. Ives", by Lee Blessing, starring: Caroline Goodall and L. Scott Caldwell. This compelling drama tells the story of the dignified mother of a ruthless Central African dictator who travels to England seeking surgery for her failing eyes by an eminent ophthalmologist. But her real motive triggers a profound moral dilemma and a bloody chain reaction of events with personal and political reverberations.
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"Fired!"
06/04/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Fired!", by Annabelle Gurwitch, starring: Annabelle Gurwitch, Charlayne Woodard, Sandra Tsing Loh and many others! Actors are never fired - they leave for medical reasons or the old stand-by, "creative differences." After her role in a Woody Allen play was "rethought," Gurwitch was devastated. Then she got funny. She and fellow show-biz veterans share stories in a series of monologues full of the hilarious mistakes and misadventures audiences crave.
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"Mimi's Guide"
05/28/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Mimi's Guide", by Doris Baizley, starring: Powers Boothe, Frances Conroy, and Ping Wu. A woman whose first lover dies in Vietnam, a poet who made his name in the anti-war movement of the 60s, and a young professor who left Saigon in 1975, encounter each other at a university in the deep South, and find their own demons are awakened by the lush, sensual climate – and each other.
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"The Devil's Disciple"
05/21/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"The Devil's Disciple" by George Bernard Shaw, starring
Richard Dreyfuss, Bruce Davison, Pat Carroll and Lisa Pelikan. Never has
the Revolutionary War been so entertaining. Shaw stands "do or die"
melodrama on its head, with a cast of unforgettable characters, from the
deliciously urbane "Gentlemanly Johnny" Burgoyne, to the misguided
romanticism of beautiful young Judith Anderson, to the Devil's Disciple
himself, a dashing young American hero who disdains heroism, even as he
makes the ultimate sacrifice for honor and country.
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"Sixteen Wounded"
05/14/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Sixteen Wounded" by Eliam Kraiem, starring 2004 Tony nominee
Omar Metwally and Martin Rayner. The fateful collision of a lonely Jewish
baker and a passionate Palestinian sets in motion a deepening friendship as
the two struggle with identity and loyalty to their beliefs and to each
other. An act of violence brought them together. Will another tear them
apart? The broadcast includes a Q & A with the audience, playwright Eliam
Kraiem, and a distinguished panel of representatives from the Jewish and
Muslim communities.
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"Marvin's Room"
05/07/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Marvin's Room" by Scott McPherson, starring Mary Steenburgen,
Roxanne Hart, Steve Weber and Jason Ritter. A funny and stirring tale of
one family’s humor and heartache as two sisters, who haven’t seen each other
for years, reunite when one of them gets sick. This is a story about the
years that keep us apart...and the moments that bring us together. The
broadcast includes an interview with Mary Steenburgen and director Jenny
Sullivan.
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"God's Man in Texas"
04/30/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"God's Man in Texas" by David Rambo, starring Morgan
Sheppard, Robert Pescovitz and Andy Taylor. Charismatic pastor Jerry Mears
auditions for the top job at the biggest Baptist church in the nation. But
when the church's aging leader clings to his own dynasty - and his coveted
10 a.m. television broadcast - the stage is set for a powerful clash of wit
and wills. A divine study of religion as big business. The broadcast
includes an interview with playwright David Rambo.
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"Frozen"
04/23/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Frozen" by Bryony Lavery, starring Rosalind Ayres, Laila
Robins and Jeffrey Donovan. One evening ten-year old Rhona goes missing.
As her mother retreats into a state of frozen hope, a psychologist studies
the brain of a serial killer to find out if what he does is pure evil - or
simply beyond his control. Drawn together by horrific circumstances, these
three embark on a long, dark journey that ends in the discovery of a common
humanity.
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"Living Together"
04/16/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Living Together" by Alan Ayckbourn, starring Martin Jarvis,
Rosalind Ayres, Jane Leeves and Carolyn Seymour.In the second "battle" of
Ayckbourn's celebrated trilogy, The Norman Conquests, Norman gets drunk on
homemade dandelion wine - and all hell breaks loose. Norman unleashes his
merry brand of manipulative charm on the hapless guests gathered at his
mother-in-law's country home, and even his most formidable opponent goes
down in defeat on the drawing room rug. The broadcast includes an interview
with playwright Alan Ayckbourn.
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"Agnes of God"
04/09/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Agnes of God" by John Pielmeier, starring Barbara Bain,
Emily Bergl, and Harriet Harris. In this contemporary murder mystery, set
within the confines of a convent, Agnes is a devout, innocent young nun
accused of infanticide. As a psychiatrist, herself a lapsed Catholic, and
the Mother Superior struggle over Agnes' fate, the play plunges deeply into
the mystery of faith and the consequence of truth. The broadcast includes an
interview with Dr. Kevin Orlin Johnson, author of "Why Do Catholics Do
That."
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"Twentieth Century"
04/02/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Twentieth Century" by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, newly
adapted by Ken Ludwig. This classic screwball comedy set aboard a luxury
train en route from Chicago to New York was a smash hit on Broadway in 2004.
Successful and egomaniacal Broadway producer Oscar Jaffe has transformed a
chorus girl into a leading lady who in turn has left him in the dust. Now
down on his luck, Oscar pulls out all the stops to persuade the newly famous
and temperamental star to return for one more show. Starring Jeff Perry,
Nancy Bell and Harriet Sansom Harris. The broadcast includes an interview
with Ken Ludwig.
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"After the Fall"
03/26/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"After the Fall" by Arthur Miller, starring Anthony
LaPaglia and Amy Brenneman. Haunted by his relationship with a needy sex
symbol, Quentin's remarks to an unseen listener spark a relentless
exploration of the past motives and compromises that still shape his
present. A riveting struggle of a man attempting to make peace with
history - his own and the world's - in order to go forward with his life.
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"All My Sons"
03/19/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
"All My Sons" by Arthur Miller, starring Julie Harris,
James Farentino and Arye Gross. World War II is over and a family, mourning
a son missing in action, plants a memorial tree and tries to go on with
their own lives. A storm blows down the tree and a devastating family
secret is uprooted, setting the characters on a terrifying journey towards
truth. A classic American drama by the late Arthur Miller.
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"How I Learned to Drive"
03/12/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"How I Learned to Drive" by Paula Vogel, starring Glenne
Headly and Randall Arney. Balmy evenings in rural Maryland are fraught with
danger; seductions can happen anywhere from a river bank to the front seat
of a car, where a young self-conscious girl is learning to drive. To Li'l
Bit, the radio is the most important part of the car, but the pop music of
the 50's can never quite drown out the harrowing images in her mind. The
broadcast includes an interview with playwright Paula Vogel.
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Abundance
03/05/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Abundance" by Beth Henley, starring JoBeth Williams, Amy
Madigan, Steven Weber, Ed Begley, Jr. and Gary Cole. From the author of
"Crimes of the Heart" comes this poignant but unromanticized story of the hard lives of
pioneers on the high plains of Wyoming in the 1860's. Macon and Bess are
two mail-order brides who meet at the train station while waiting for their
respective husbands-to-be. The play follows their friendship over the next
25 years.
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Becket, or the Honor of God
02/26/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Tony
Award-winning actor Denis O'Hare stars as St. Thomas Becket in one of the
greatest dramas of the last century by one of its greatest playwrights.
Waiting to be punished for his part in Becket's murder, King Henry II
re-lives his deeply felt relationship with the saint, once his dearest
friend and partner in unbridled decadence. His catastrophic mistake? To
appoint Becket Archbishop - for Becket finds his allegiance shifting from
king and country to God and Church. Winner of the 1961 Tony Award for Best
Play. The production also stars Simon Templeman, Kevin Daniels, and Jean
Gilpin.
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"Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine"
02/19/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine" by Lynn Nottage.
Knocked-up and seriously broke, successful publicist Undine - played by
Charlayne Woodard, reprising her New York role - is plunged into a
topsy-turvy world of welfare mothers and drug addicts, and forced to
confront the family she left behind. It's a darkly comic
rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of falling down and reaching up to find the
goodness within. The production also stars members of the original New York
cast Daniel Breaker, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Melle Powers and Myra Lucretia Taylor.
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"Pack of Lies"
02/12/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Pack of Lies" by Hugh Whitemore, starring Julian Sands, David
Selby, Rosalind Ayres and Martin Jarvis. Actual events during the Cold War
inspired this thriller with present-day relevance in the current era of the
Patriot Act. In suburban London, loyalty, duty, and friendship conflict with
one another when the Jacksons slowly discover the Krogers, their neighbors
and cherished best friends, are Russian spies. A gripping play that may
leave you wondering exactly what it is those nice people next door are
really up to.
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"Monticello"
02/05/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Monticello" with libretto by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist
Leroy Aarons, score by Glenn Paxton, and directed by John Rubinstein. This
powerful and hauntingly beautiful opera stars Christopher Schuman and Shana
Blake Hill. Scandal erupts in the White House – and in the national press –
when Thomas Jefferson’s longtime love affair with his slave mistress, Sally
Hemings, is revealed.
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"The Third Man"
01/29/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"The Third Man" by Graham Greene, starring Kelsey Grammer and
John Mahoney. Somewhere in shadowy post-war Vienna, where everyone has
something to sell on the black market, lurks "the third man," who witnessed
the murder of Harry Lime. The police don't care to investigate, but
novelist Holly Martins is haunted by the death of his friend, and his search
for the killer makes for electrifying drama. The broadcast includes an
interview with TIME magazine film critic, Richard Schickel.
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"Present Laughter"
01/22/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Present Laughter" by Noel Coward, starring Ian Ogilvy,
Yeardley Smith, Christina Pickles and Carolyn Seymour. In this delicious
comedy, a gallery of friends, lovers, relatives and theatre acolytes buzz
around stage star Garry Essendine like bubbles in fine champagne. While
Garry struggles to plan his upcoming trip to Africa, his elegant London flat
is invaded by a love struck ingenue, an adulterous producer and a married
seductress - not to mention Garry's estranged wife and the memorable Roland
Maule, an aspiring playwright who is quite, quite mad.
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"Night Mother"
01/15/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Night Mother" by Marsha Norman, starring Sharon Gless and
Katherine Helmond. Jessie feels she has nothing to live for. And tonight,
she plans to do something about it. Thus begins the nerve-wracking duel
between a woman systematically preparing for her own death and the frantic,
comic and touching efforts of her mother to stop her. The broadcast
includes "Tell Tale" by Jeffrey Hatcher, one of three monologues that make
up his play "Three Viewings." Bruce Davison plays Emil, a respectable
middle-aged mortician consumed by a passion he dare not declare.
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The Chicago Conspiracy Trial
01/08/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"The Chicago Conspiracy Trial" adapted from the original trial
transcripts by Peter Goodchild, and starring George Murdock, Mike Nussbaum,
and David Schwimmer. Reality is stranger than fiction when eight 1960's
radicals refuse to behave in Judge Julius Hoffman's courtroom. Based on
actual trial transcripts, this play centers on events following the protests
and riots during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.
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Round and Round the Garden
01/01/2005
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Round and Round the Garden" by Alan Ayckbourn, starring
Rosalind Ayres, Martin Jarvis, Jane Leeves and Carolyn Seymour. The third
of Ayckbourn's comic trilogy, The Norman Conquests, "Round and Round the
Garden" takes place in an English country garden during a disastrous family
weekend. Norman is an assistant librarian whose conquests, unlike those of
the warrior race to whom he presumably owes his name, are amorous rather
than military. Heavily laced with lunacy and occasionally spiked with
venom, Ayckbourn examines the foibles of the English middle class, mixing
hilarity with pointed social comment. The broadcast includes an interview
with Alan Ayckbourn.
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The Heiress
12/25/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
The Heiress by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz, suggested by the Henry James novel Washington Square, starring Amy Irving, Chris Noth and George Gaynes. Set in New York City in 1850, The Heiress centers on the painfully shy Catherine Sloper, who lives in Washington Square with her wealthy but austere father Dr. Sloper. When Catherine falls in love with handsome suitor Morris Townsend, who may or may not be after her fortune, she must make the choice between her love for Townsend and her duty to her overbearing father.
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Chavez Ravine
12/18/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Chavez Ravine" written and performed by Culture Clash. The controversial history of Chavez Ravine, the immigrant community that once existed on the site that is now Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, is explored with humor, brutal honesty, and pulse-racing music by the nation's premier Chicano/Latino theater troupe, Culture Clash. The broadcast includes an interview with Richard Montoya of Culture Clash and Frank Wilkinson, former head of the Los Angeles City Housing Authority and a key figure in the events of Chavez Ravine.
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Halcyon Days
12/11/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Halcyon Days" by Steven Dietz, starring Anne Archer, Ed Begley, Jr., and Richard Masur. Senator Eddie Bowman cannot see the point of invading a miniscule Caribbean island to rescue a bunch of overly tanned medical students. But as the 1983 invasion of Grenada gets underway, the Senator finds himself at odds with a mysterious foreign-policy specialist who cultivates roses, the President's sexy new speechwriter - and his own son. The broadcast includes an interview with playwright Steven Dietz.
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The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial
12/04/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial" adapted from the original trial transcripts by Peter Goodchild, starring Edward Asner, Charles Durning, and Tyne Daly. The Scopes Trial, over the right to teach the theory of evolution in public schools, reaffirmed the principle of intellectual freedom as codified in the Bill of Rights. The trial, in a small-town Tennessee courtroom in 1925, set the stage for ongoing national debates over freedom of inquiry and the separation of church and state in a democratic society, debates that continue to this day. (****please note that The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial has replaced the previously announced airing of Camping with Henry and Tom)
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The Grapes of Wrath
11/27/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"The Grapes of Wrath" adapted for the stage from John Steinbeck’s novel by Frank Galati. The 19-member cast is led by Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, and Frances Guinan, with original music performed by The Joel Rafael Band. Driven by the rhythms of country fiddles and campground guitars, this Tony Award-winning adaptation tells the compelling story of the Joad family’s trek from the Oklahoma dust bowl to the fertile but futile fields of California. The broadcast includes and interview with director Richard Masur.
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Fifth of July
11/20/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Fifth of July" by Lanford Wilson, starring Matt Roth, JD Cullum, Marin Hinkle and Claudette Sutherland. Ken Talley, a recent Vietnam Vet, plays host to eccentric family members and old college friends for a summer holiday and struggles with the emotional stakes everyone holds in the past and the future of the family farmhouse he may sell. Pulitzer Prize-winner Wilson's bittersweet portrait captures the yearning and bewilderment of the rock and roll generation at the precise moment they realize the fireworks ended yesterday.
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Aliens in America
11/13/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Aliens in America" written and performed by Sandra Tsing Loh. Contemporary satirist Loh spins a darkly comic, semi-autobiographical tale of growing up middle-class Chinese-German in Southern California. This comic monologue is for sons and daughters everywhere who feel that their parents must have beamed to Earth from another planet. The broadcast includes an interview with Sandra Tsing Loh.
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Hotel Oubliette
11/06/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Hotel Oubliette by Jane Anderson, starring Edward Asner,
Marsha Mason, and Arye Gross. Inspired by the memoirs of released American
hostages, Hotel Oubliette is a darkly comedic play that explores what
happens when two emotionally disconnected men are chained to a post with an
endless amount of time stretching before them. Deprived of both their
freedom and the trappings of what has defined them as successful, powerful
males, they finally discover the art of meaningful conversation. The
broadcast includes an interview with director Jenny Sullivan and sound
designer Mark Ward.
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Chapter Two
10/30/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Chapter Two by Neil Simon, starring David Dukes and
Sharon Gless. Comedy and pathos mingle brilliantly in Neil Simon's
portrait of a widowed New York novelist who fears he may never love again
and has no interest in dating. Neither does smart, attractive Jennie
Malone, who has just returned from getting a Mexican divorce. A grudging
five-minute meeting between them blossoms into a passionate, witty romance
- until they decide to marry.
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The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
10/23/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial by Herman Wouk, starring David Selby and Grant Shaud. This acclaimed World War II psychological courtroom drama was the sensation of 1954. The play reveals the destructive madness of Lieutenant Commander Queeg and his questionable behavior aboard the USS Caine Mutiny during a typhoon in the Pacific.
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Private Lives by Noel Coward
10/16/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Private Lives by Noel Coward, starring Rosalind Ayres
and Ian Ogilvy. On the French Rivera, the lights of a yacht are reflected
in the water and in the eyes of four hilariously mismatched
lovers. Perhaps Coward's greatest comedy, Private Lives shimmers with wit,
romance, desire and bittersweet truth. The broadcast includes the short
play Thirteen Things about Ed Carpolotti by Jeffrey Hatcher, performed by
Rue McClanahan. A newly widowed suburban matron finds her world crashing
about her - only to be rescued by love from beyond the grave. Thirteen
Things about Ed Carpolotti is one of three interweaving monologues in
Jeffrey Hatcher's Three Viewings.
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The Waldorf Conference
10/9/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
The Waldorf Conference by Nat Segaloff, Daniel M. Kimmel and Arnie Reisman, starring Edward Asner, Charles Durning, and Ron Rifkin. On November 24, 1947, the most powerful men in American film met in New York's plush Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to decide how to address the Communist witch-hunt being carried out by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Twenty-four hours later they emerged having created the Hollywood Blacklist. The Waldorf Conference dramatically speculates on what went on in that room. The broadcast includes an interview with Nat Segaloff.
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Dugout III: Warboy (and the backboard blues)
10/2/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Dugout III: Warboy (and the backboard blues) by Terry Allen, performed by Jo Harvey Allen. Loosely based on the lives and times of his parents - his father was a 60 year-old ex-baseball player and his mother a 40 year-old barrelhouse piano player - artist, musician, and writer Terry Allen creates a magical series of impressions and images of the lives and influences on a small-town family in West Texas in the 1950's. The broadcast includes a conversation with Terry Allen, Jo Harvey Allen and renowned art critic David Hickey.
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The Cocktail Hour
09/25/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
The Cocktail Hour by A. R. Gurney. Bruce Davison and
Keene Curtis recreate their brilliant off-Broadway performances in this
sophisticated comedy about a playwright son who shatters his uptight WASP
parent's veneer of civility by announcing that his soon-to-be-produced play
is about them. The broadcast includes an interview with Bruce Davison.
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Bang the Drum Slowly
09/18/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Bang the Drum Slowly adapted by Eric Simonson from the
novel by Mark Harris, starring David Schwimmer, Jonathan Silverman, and Ed
Begley, Jr. A humorous and poignant story that follows a fictional major
league baseball team through a summer season when the team comes together
after one of the players is diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. The
broadcast includes an interview with Eric Simonson.
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Broken Glass
09/11/2004
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Broken Glass by Arthur Miller, starring JoBeth Williams, David Dukes, Lawrence Pressman, and Linda Purl. Set in 1938 Brooklyn, this psychological mystery begins when attractive, level-headed Sylvia Gellburg suddenly loses her ability to walk. The doctor can find nothing wrong. The only clue lies in Sylvia's obsession with news accounts from Germany. Though safe in Brooklyn, Sylvia is terrified by Nazi violence could it be something closer to home? The broadcast includes an interview with JoBeth Williams.
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Mrs. Warren's Profession
09/04/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
Written by George Bernard Shaw and starring Shirley Knight and Kaitlin Hopkins. Cambridge-educated mathematics whiz Vivie Warren discovers that her comfortable upbringing was financed in unspeakable ways. Shaw pits his clever heroine against a memorable gallery of rogues in this superbly intelligent and still shocking comedy, banned for eight years from the English stage after its London debut.
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An Immaculate Misconception
08/28/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"An Immaculate Misconception" by Carl Djerassi. JoBeth Williams stars as reproductive scientist Dr. Melanie Laidlaw, who is intent on giving birth using the reproductive technology that she is pioneering. But before she can claim credit for either her scientific discovery or motherhood, she must overcome the professional designs of another research scientist. Kevin Kilner also stars.
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Zoot Suit
08/21/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Zoot Suit" by Luis Valdez, starring Marco Rodriguez and El Teatro Campesino. Masterfully using the Sleepy Lagoon murder case to examine the Chicano Zoot Suit Culture of the 40's, "Zoot Suit" is passionate and provocative, and pulses with the beat of Big Band Music and traditional Latin Songs.
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The Crucible
08/14/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Stacy Keach. Arthur Miller's classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in 17th century Salem is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. Written in 1952, "The Crucible" famously mirrors the anti-communist hysteria that held the United States in its grip.
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Mrs. Klein
08/7/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
Starring Julie Harris, JoBeth Williams, and Lindsay Crouse. In 1934 the son of Britain's most controversial psychoanalyst was reported killed in a climbing accident. There were no witnesses. Nicholas Wright's "Mrs. Klein" speculates in gripping dramatic form whether Klein was a devoted mother or a monster who used her psychoanalytic skills to drive her son to suicide. The broadcast includes an interview with a psychoanalyst.
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The Young Man from Atlanta
07/31/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
Written by Horton Foote. Shirley Knight recreates her Tony-nominated performance in this 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. In 1950's Houston, an affluent couple is transformed by tragedy when their son dies under mysterious circumstances and the husband loses his job of 40 years. David Selby also stars. The broadcast includes an interview with Shirley Knight.
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The Best Man
07/24/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
By Gore Vidal, starring Marsha Mason and Senator Fred Thompson. Set against the backdrop of the 1960 Democratic National Convention, this powerful drama tells the story of three driven men thrown into the ring as presidential hopefuls. When their paths cross, all bets - and gloves - are off.
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Spinning Into Butter
07/17/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
By: Rebecca Gilman
Jordan Baker, Kevin Kilner, and Charles Kimbrough star in this provocative and funny expose of political correctness at a picture-perfect Vermont College. The broadcast includes an interview with Marsha Mason and Senator Fred Thompson, the stars of "The Best Man," which will air the following week.
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Oedipus the King
07/10/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
By: Sophocles
"Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, translated and directed by Nicholas Rudall. One of the first and greatest of all Greek tragedies, Harry Lennix stars as Oedipus, the king who unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother. W. Morgan Sheppard and Carolyn Seymour also star. The broadcast includes a Q & A session with translator and director Nicholas Rudall.
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Falsettos
07/03/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
Starring: Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus and Chip Zien
"Falsettos," the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical; music and lyrics by William Finn, book by William Finn and James Lapine. Original cast members Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus and Chip Zien reunite in this story of a family turned upside down by Dad moving in with his male lover.
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M. Butterfly
06/26/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
Starring: John Lithgow and B. D. Wong
"M. Butterfly" by David Henry Hwang. John Lithgow and B. D. Wong recreate their original roles from the Tony Award-winning production. Inspired by an actual espionage scandal, a French diplomat discovers the startling truth about his Chinese mistress.
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Noel Coward's "Design for Living"
06/19/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes ]
Starring: Claire Forlani, Hamish Linklater, and Douglas Weston
Three terminally stylish friends who share rivalrous affections attempt to uncoil their twisted love triangle in this sexy and scandalous gem. Written in 1932, the play was deemed extremely daring and even by today's standards is considered controversial in its frank and funny take on sex, love and commitment, proving to be one of Coward's greatest successes.
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Pretty Fire
06/12/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
"Pretty Fire" written and performed by Charlayne Woodard. In five autobiographical vignettes, Charlayne Woodward tells the moving and inspirational tale of her African-American family through three generations of love, struggle and triumph. A one-woman tour de force. The broadcast includes a supplemental piece titled "1955" by Alice Walker, performed by Whoopi Goldberg (a BBC co-production).
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Adam's Rib
06/05/2004
[ Listen to the First 15 Minutes]
In "Adam’s Rib," a happily married couple’s relationship is put to the test when husband and wife find themselves serving as trial attorneys on opposite sides of the same headline-making, attempted murder, marital case - he as the prosecutor, she as the defender. The comical fireworks displayed in the courtroom follow these two home, creating a clever and extremely funny portrait of love and work. The broadcast includes a group interview with Adam Arkin, Anne Heche, Amy Pietz, director Gordon Hunt, and writer David Rambo.
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